Association remains in dire need of financial help
By Jennifer Eisenbart
Editor
For the last year, the Burlington Cemetery Association has been trying to get both the city and the town of Burlington to help it out of its financial troubles.
The association, hammered hard when a former member embezzled a large amount from the cemetery’s maintenance fund, is still waiting to see what the answer will be.
While the City of Burlington authorized a $15,000 payment to the cemetery association over the summer, the Town of Burlington has said several times that it has no money to give.
What happens next could be a meeting away – at least the Town of Burlington Town Board and the association are scheduled to meet Oct. 29 at 6 p.m.
Mayor Bob Miller indicated Monday that a joint meeting was in the works, and that the city might be at the meeting on the 29th.
“The council does not want to take over the cemetery,” Miller said. “I don’t, either. I think the most troublesome thing the city could get into is owning a cemetery.”
However, if the cemetery association goes under, the city may find itself exactly in that position. Beverly Gill, the secretary/treasurer for the association, said Tuesday the group needs to find out just what it can do.
“We need to find out what our legal rights are,” Gill said. “Can we levy for taxes, or is it up to the city and town to say yay or nay?
“We have to have a definite cash flow to run that cemetery,” Gill added. “We have to make sure we have that, or we can’t continue.”
Gill added Tuesday that the Town Board had not gotten back to them with a definite time and date, so the first notification she knew about the meeting came from a phone call from the newspaper.
The communication issue has been ongoing between the town and the association, with both sides saying the other hasn’t provided the necessary information to make decisions.
As that has been happening, the City Council has made it clear it does not want the problem of running the cemetery. However, if the association cannot establish a means of taking care of the various issues at the cemetery, the cemetery would have to be out of the association’s hands for a year – and then it would revert to the city in terms of ownership.
Miller said Monday the city doesn’t want it.
“I’m hoping that we can come to some sort of resolution,” Miller explained. “To get them back on their feet so they can be financially viable, and so it can remain in the hands of the association.”
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Really? Maybe we need to make sure that our elected officials have the necessary problem solving skills before we vote them in. Train horns, overnight parking & now we have the city bickering with the township over the cemetery? It seems that many trivial issues are too complex for those we have entrusted with our city’s welfare.
It confuses me that the blame for the failure of the cemetery is still being blamed on an embezzlement that happened so long ago. Sooner or later people need to be held accountable for their actions (Or lack there of). It is obvious that current management has lost control of the property & running the business.
Cash flow for a cemetery has to be directly tied to appearance, maintenance & upkeep. History shows that these have been an issue. Why would anyone want a loved one to be placed there when it does not even get mowed on a regular basis? My father is buried there & I regret ever choosing Burlington Cemetery. I cannot move him, so I am forced to mow & trim his plot to make sure he is shown the respect he deserves. Monthly trips with lawn maintenance tools is now a common chore. This should not be the way it is, but I have no choice. He is worth it. Now, the city & township has to decide if they will get this resolved & show their citizens that their loved ones are important to them as well.
As you move through this “issue”, please keep in mind that this is not just a property. It is home to hundreds of loved ones & a place where your citizens go to grieve, spend precious time, pray & worship. It is a shame how it is being maintained & honestly, a slap in the face. Reading about the fight between the city & town is embarrassing & the townships stance is nothing short of irresponsible.
So my property tax bill -that is already one of the highest in the nation, will go up so the cemetery can be maintained
Isn’t it bad enough that my taxes pay for street maintenance and garbage pickup, but because I’m in a “developement” we have to pay for that seperately out of our HOA as well?
Maybe we need to stop mowing our lawns because the city will just come by and mow it for us then just pass the bill on to the taxpayers.