Jon Johnson Photo/Gila Herald: On Tuesday night, the Pima Town Council unanimously voted to raise the town’s cemetery fees.
By Jon Johnson
PIMA – The cost of living is going up across the nation and, in Pima, so is the cost of dying.
At its Tuesday night meeting, the Pima Town Council unanimously voted to increase its cemetery prices from $300 per space to $400 per space, with $700 for two spaces and $1,600 per plot – which is five spaces. Pima formerly offered a plot for $900.
“Everything’s gone up,” said Pima Town Manager Vernon Batty. “Materials have gone up, our salaries have gone up. It’s been a long, long time – I don’t know how long ago these prices were set.”
In raising the prices, Batty said they would come more in line with prices in Safford and Thatcher, which sell for $465 and $400 per space, respectively.
Mayor Dale Rogers said he felt the increase was appropriate and reasonable.
“I know that puts us well below any place you’ll find in metropolitan areas in the state,” Rogers said. “I think it probably puts us in about the right place.”
There was a discussion of possibly having two prices – one for local residents and one for others – however, that was dismissed.
The council then unanimously approved changing the prices to $400 per spot, $700 for two spots, and $1,600 for a plot (five spots).
In other Pima Town Council news:
- The council unanimously approved recommending the El Mesquite restaurant receive a liquor license from the state. If granted, the license will be for a restaurant and will only allow beer and pre-mixed drinks with no hard liquor and the business must sell more food than alcohol.
- The council unanimously voted to move the date of its monthly meeting from the first Tuesday of the month to the second Tuesday of the month, staying at 7 p.m. The move will need another meeting to finalize the change in town code, so the next regularly-scheduled meeting will still be on the first Tuesday in March.
