The fee would also contribute to the replacement cost of materials such as grave mats damaged by self-backfilling, and ongoing maintenance and material costs.
Councillor Tu O’Brien. Photo / LDR
O’Brien said he had been digging graves across several marae on the Rangitāiki Plains for 30 years and was happy to sit down with staff and the workers and work out a way around the issue.
One suggestion he had was to use a more durable material than astroturf for the grave mats, such as mill felt, which was available from the local mill.
Other councillors supported O’Brien’s objections to the fee.
Staff reported that fees across the cemeteries and crematorium made up 31% of the cost of running them, which had gone down from a peak of 40% in recent years.
This was because of the increased demand for family-led cremations and self-back-filling, which increased costs for the council while not increasing revenue.
A new $500 fee is also being introduced for family-led cremations to account for the additional staff time required for cremations that are not led by a funeral director.
The proposed fee and charges covers staff time to meet with families to coach them through the process, answering questions and checking paperwork is completed correctly to ensure legislative requirements are met.
A sexton is also required to check inside caskets to ensure nothing has been placed in the casket that is not allowed in the cremator.
These are all tasks that would usually be undertaken by a funeral director.
A $250 oversize casket fee is also being introduced to cover additional costs involved in this.
Natural burial plot charges are also being increased from $2630 to $2807. This is to bring costs closer to natural burial plot fees across the country. According to information from Natural Burials NZ, the average price of a natural burial in New Zealand is $4070.
The new fees and charges schedule is due to be officially adopted with the Annual Plan 2026-2027 in two weeks.
Staff have been asked to come back with other options for self-back-filling burials during that time.
Suggestions from councillors include the payment of a bond rather than a fee, which could be returned if no damage was done to council property during the backfilling process.
Councillors did not indicate any opposition to the proposed increase in fees for oversized caskets, family-led cremations and natural burial plots.
– LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.