Agenda Index City of Vancouver

ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

TO: Standing Committee on City and Budgets
FROM: Manager - Mountain View Cemetery and Director of Finance
SUBJECT: Cemetery Schedule of Fees Amendment
 

RECOMMENDATION

GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENTS

COUNCIL POLICY

City Council has resolved that every department/board review services for which fees are now charged to ensure full cost recovery, or that fees are equivalent to competitive charges where the fee is of a market nature.

SUMMARY

The purpose of this report is to seek Council approval to increase the fees charged by Mountain View Cemetery to the level charged by other Lower Mainland municipal cemeteries, as proposed in Appendix "B".

BACKGROUND

In July, 1992, Vancouver City Council approved the Cemetery Schedule of Fees which has been in effect since January 1993. Since that time, market rates have increased significantly leaving Mountain View Cemetery's fees well behind.

It is therefore proposed to submit a revised schedule of fees for Council approval and authority to amend the By-law and submit the amendment to the Provincial Registrar of Cemetery and Funeral Services for filing.

DISCUSSION

The Cemetery Fee Schedule was last updated in 1992. As part of the Visioning process carried out by the Philips Wuori Long during 1997, Cemetery staff developed a comparison among the cemetery fees assessed by other municipal cemeteries and by the commercial cemeteries in the Lower Mainland. This information is detailed in Appendix "A".

These comparisons highlighted the principal issue that, while Mountain View has been closed since 1986, the variety of service choices and pricing alternatives have increased substantially. In an effort to offer these new services and to establish appropriate pricing strategies, the Master Plan process recommended in the companion report, is to include recommendations to amend the Cemetery By-law No.4162.

The current fees for services at Mountain View Cemetery are lower in all cases than those charged by other municipal cemeteries. The fees are also significantly below the fees charged by commercial cemeteries in the Lower Mainland. The review also indicates that the portion of cost to be attributed to Perpetual Care should be increased to allow for adequate maintenance of the Cemetery in the future.

ALTERNATIVE

Council may consider the option of bringing all fees into line with the commercial market average at this time. Mountain View Cemetery's fees may be more readily compared to commercial cemetery fees than to other municipal cemetery fees. Council policy in both North and West Vancouver is to run their cemeteries to break even, not to generate profit; therefore, their fees are charged on a cost recovery basis, and are not driven by true market value. In addition, Mountain View is more directly comparable to the large commercial cemeteries because of similarities in size, topography and location within the major population centre of the Lower Mainland.

Appendix "B" outlines a proposed schedule that has been sent to the Attorney General's Registrar of Cemetery and Funeral Services as a draft for their review. The Registrar's office has indicated that they would be able to accept the revised fees for filing should an amended by-law be presented to them.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

The adoption of the revised schedule of fees should reduce the net City cost of operating the Mountain View Cemetery. The amended Cemetery Fees Schedule should result in an annual increase in cost recoveries of $110,000. Estimated cost recoveries for the balance of 1998 will be $ 55,000. The amended Cemetery Fees Schedule will also have a proportional impact on the amounts credited to the Perpetual Care Fund.

IMPLEMENTATION AND COMMUNICATION PLAN

If the revised fee schedule is approved by Council, it is necessary that the amended Cemetery By-law be filed with the Registrar of Cemetery and Funeral Services before the by-law can come into effect on July 1, 1998. Also, all Funeral Homes and Memorial Societies will be advised of the new fee structure by the first of a series of newsletters and open meetings.

CONCLUSION

Staff recommend approval of the revised Cemetery Fee Schedule as a key step in implementing the Vision Plan reported separately. Approval of the new fees will bring Mountain View Cemetery's fees in line with other Lower Mainland municipal cemeteries as an intermediate step towards full market pricing. As part of the Vision Plan Report the recommended Master Plan includes the need for a detailed report on a review of all fees and services including any proposed new services and fees.

Attachments to this Report that do not have electronic copy are available on file in the City Clerk's Office.

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