The Abridged version:
- On Tuesday, the Woodland City Council will consider whether to raise fees at the Woodland Cemetery.
- The discussion comes as the historic cemetery operates in a budget deficit that is filled by the city.
- If approved, the fees for a standard grave would almost double.
In Woodland, the price of a final resting place could be rising.
At Tuesday’s City Council meeting, members will vote on a proposal to nearly double fees for a standard grave at the historic Woodland Cemetery. Staff said the move will align the cemetery’s prices with those in Davis and Dixon.
As it stands, a standard grave at Woodland Cemetery costs $1,080. If approved, that price will go up to something between $2,000 and $2,500.
A budget deficit at the cemetery
The decision comes amid a conversation the council had in December after city staff provided an update on the cemetery’s financial situation. According to the staff report, the Woodland Cemetery, which is intended to make enough revenue to cover costs, has been a financial drain on the city’s general fund for years. Last year, the cemetery’s operating budget deficit was just under $284,000.
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“It’s hard to challenge the status quo,” Mayor Tom Stallard said during the Dec. 16 meeting. “It’s very easy to go on, but year after year after year we are basically subsidizing the cemetery over a quarter of a million dollars per year. It’s historic and it is valuable to the community, but it’s supposed to support its own cost. It is an enterprise and we’re going to have to drill down and make it work more like an enterprise.”
More to come
The increase in fees, if implemented, would not solve the entire deficit. Based on the number of plots that are purchased, staff predicted that the bump could bring in around $25,000 in revenue.
To address the rest of the gap, the council is considering other options, including the creation of a cemetery district, which could raise money in part through a new property tax in the city.
Regardless of how the rest of these conversations go, Stallard predicted that this is a harbinger of things to come in a city that is “headed for troubled seas fiscally.”
“This issue is symbolic of the kinds of things that we’re going to have to be doing in this city going forward,” he said. “Without a substantial improvement in our revenue picture, we’re going to have to look hard at some things.”
Woodland is contending with a structural deficit in its general fund that is forecast to grow to just under $5.5 million by fiscal year 2028-2029.
Daniel Hennessy joins Abridged from the California Local News Fellowship. He’s a reporter covering Yolo County.