Burial services and the sale of plots, vaults and casket liners are the primary source of revenue for the district. The number of burials had dropped from 200 to 122 since 2017 at the Exeter Cemetery while Deep Creek and Hamilton combined had just five burials in the last five years, according to the district’s annual audits. The district increased prices in order to avoid a property tax measure but could not raise them too high for fear of losing burials to larger cemeteries in the area.
In 2008, the cemetery took a $61,000 loss for the first time in many years. Since then the district has continued to take a loss year over year with the budget gap growing to more than $80,000 in 2016. In all, the district has taken a nearly $800,000 hit to its budget from 2008 until 2020. In order to continue operating, the cemetery board and district superintendent made difficult decisions to keep the doors open. Throughout that time, the district has laid off staff, reduced maintenance and upkeep of the grounds, deferred equipment replacement and reduced other expenses as far as they could while still being able to provide basic burial services.
“We’ve cut everyone you can cut and there isn’t anything left to cut,” Faulkner said. “If someone has a better idea I sure wish they’d have shared it by now.”
Erica Pine, the certified public accountant for the cemeteries, said the district determined in 2020 it could only continue operation for about two more years before it was out of money. In early 2021, Faulkner said the board began serious discussions about placing a tax measure on the ballot.