YORKTON - Following the regular meeting of Yorkton Council Monday the city has a new Cemetery Bylaw.
Taylor Morrison, Director of Recreation & Community Services, with the city provided a report on the process of creating the new bylaw, which provides for the control and operation of cemeteries with the city.
He noted the existing bylaw had last been reviewed and approved by Council in October of 2021, and it provided for the inclusion of the cemetery expansion project and Woodland interment sites.
Additionally, a review of fees and charges was completed in conjunction with the Bylaw review, and were approved on a three-year cycle for 2022 through 2024.
As background Morrison noted all cemeteries in Saskatchewan are subject to provincial legislation through The Cemeteries Act, 1999 and The Cemeteries Regulations, 2001 and are required to be registered with the province.
Administration has completed a review of the current Cemetery Bylaw, and has compared the document to other municipal bylaws from cities that own and operate their own cemeteries, said Morrison.
“A consistent theme across many of the other bylaws was the change to plain language that clearly outlines the requirements of the bylaw. Many cemeteries are using the bylaw as a guiding document when having discussions with funeral homes and families, and including plain language allows for easier, more personal conversations with people during an emotional time, and that is legal in nature,” he explained.
Therefore, Administration felt that a complete re-write of the bylaw was more desirous than attempting to revise and amend the current document. The intent of the bylaw remains the same, however significant language and housekeeping items were adjusted to allow for the inclusion of simpler language and to provide for better flow when reading through the bylaw, he added.
There are no financial implications to the bylaw changes, other than removing fees and charges from being contained within the document. Removing the fees and charges from the bylaw provides Administration with the ability to adjust rates when needed, rather than being locked into a specific term, such as a three-year fees and charges schedule, and without needing to re-open the bylaw to make any revisions.
The setting of fees and charges is procedural in nature. Administration will continue to compare our fees to other Saskatchewan municipal cemeteries to determine where changes in the fee structure could positively impact our cost recovery, and would be completed yearly as part of the annual operating budget process, explained Morrison.
The cemetery endeavours to operate on a cost recovery basis, with the main source of revenue being through plot sales and interment services. Plot sales have slowed over recent years as multiple cremation burials in the same plot are becoming more common. Plot prices are established using a market value comparison, where we aim to be in the mid-range when compared to other municipal cemeteries.
Council gave unanimous support to the bylaw, and all three readings were carried out Monday.
