The running of the city's cemeteries often goes unmentioned. But at Monday's meeting of city council, a proposed fee change brought them to the forefront for a few minutes.

At issue was the fact that it was a lower year for burials as COVID-19 restrictions forced funerals to be delayed or for cremation to be a more viable option in order to prevent social gatherings and potential spreader events.

That sparked a bit of a problem, as the city looks for what is called a recovery rate on any service that is at least partially paid for with taxpayer money.

As councillor Ryan Plewis explained:

"Council in the budget process provides targets for various different business units in the city for recovery. Particularly those that are subsidized by tax-payers. So this year 83 percent of those were recovered through operations."

Essentially, while paying for the upkeep of a cemetery is considered a business-cost and not necessarily a profit-driven exercise, they would still like to recover as close to 100 percent of their costs as possible, and in 2020 that just didn't happen.

Jim Jones, the city's general manager of community services, said that while other larger municipal centres would often augment their recovery rate by selling additional items like vaults, liners, markets, etc... or by charging a perpetual care fund, Swift Current ultimately decided against such a move because the cost of doing so in terms of storage facilities, equipment, labour and other necessities, would largely negate the benefit.

It would seem in that case then that a rate increase would be in order. But with Swift Current's fees already at or only slightly below the average, raising them would be problematic.

The end, according to the proposal brought forward at city council, will indeed see an increase in 2022 equaling about 4 percent for interments, disinterments, lots and niches. As well as an increase of $5 dollars for monument installation permits, up to $95 dollars.

2022 will also see an administration fee; something that the city has thus far avoided, but other municipal cemeteries in the province charge. The $95 dollar fee would assist with the cost of transferring burial rights, the purchase of cemetery software and keeping cemetery records safe.

In exchange, there will be no increase in 2021, giving the city's private partners like funeral homes, who often set their own rates based on the city's rates, time to adjust accordingly.