The cost of living is going up in Bellingham. So is the cost of dying
Fees at Bayview Cemetery in Bellingham are rising, and non-residents will pay more as the city-owned burial ground seeks to keep up with inflation and demands from outside Whatcom County.
A casket burial will cost $3,021 for Bellingham residents, up from $1,980 last year for everyone — a 53% increase.
Casket burial for non-residents, a new category, will be $4,018, according to a report from Parks and Recreation Director Nicole Oliver.
City Council members voted 6-0 Monday to raise burial fees. Councilwoman Kristina Michele Martins was absent.
Bayview’s last price hike was in 2022, for tombstones only, according to Oliver’s report.
“At that time, we conducted a rate analysis and only raised fees in selected categories of goods and services to offset the cost of labor, utilities, materials, and services. Over the past two to three years, we have noticed more cemetery customers coming from the Seattle area to use our services as our rates are much lower and making burials and services more economical for many families from out of this area,” Oliver said.
About 25% of all burials at Bayview are from the greater Seattle area, she said.
Before the adjustment, Bayview’s casket burial rate was 36% lower than other cemeteries; open and closing services were on average 59% lower and casket liners were 50% lower.
With its variety of heritage trees, Bayview Cemetery is maintained like an extension of nearby Whatcom Falls Park.
It was founded in 1887, and the graves of early European settlers such as the Eldridges, Roeders and Bloedels are found there.
“A lot of people use it as a park and it takes a lot of time and money to maintain,” Oliver told the council’s Parks and Recreation Committee on Monday.
Bayview’s annual maintenance and operations cost is $457,255 and has run over budget the past two years, according to the report.
Cemetery Sexton Richard Griffin told the Parks and Recreation Committee on Monday, that his staff is completing a “master plan” for the future, along with a survey of new grave plots and a project to digitize historical records.
Griffin saidparks officials are also looking at limited space.
“What’s out there, in terms of usable land, that’s limited,” he said.
This story was originally published October 17, 2023 at 12:17 PM.
