Cape County's fund for indigent burials drained

EDITOR'S NOTE: The speed roads were changed to has been corrected.

How Cape Girardeau County should best handle indigent burials has been a topic of discussion among several county commissions over the years, but nothing has changed.

Now the issue is back on the plate of the current commission, which announced Thursday that the annual amount allotted for such burials in the county's operating budget is already gone.

"This is never an easy thing to talk about," Commissioner Paul Koeper said, "but we really need to figure out what we are going to do."

With Thursday's approval by commissioners to pay for the burial of a fifth person since Jan. 1, the county has only $100 left for the budget line item designated for indigent burials.

The commission often grants $600 for burials of people who do not leave behind enough money to cover the cost and do not have relatives or connected parties who can pay.

The commission has annually budgeted $3,000, but commissioners and other county officials say a change to that amount may be needed considering the number of people who require the burials, although small, has been above normal the past few years.

From 2000 to 2005, the county paid for burials of eight people at a cost of $4,400, said County Auditor Pete Frazier. Between 2006 and this year, there have been 20 burials or cremations, which cost the county $11,900. The number started to rise in 2010, with the county paying for arrangements after four deaths. In 2011, the number rose to five, and there have been five so far in 2012.

County Coroner John Clifton said a reason for the increase seems to be a greater hesitancy to take on the cost of arrangements for a deceased family member or acquaintance.

"It is definitely taking people longer to claim bodies," he said.

Presiding Commissioner Clint Tracy said he believes that may be related to the economy.

"Times are tough," he said. "It is sad, but if people can't afford it, they can't. We want to help whoever we can, but we also have to be conscious of the space we have for burials and the cost to residents of the county."

Commissioner Jay Purcell and Koeper both say the county should explore cremation as a way to save money, since funeral homes generally charge less for cremation than burial.

A change to the county's policy was last discussed among commissioners in 2005, but no changes were made. A similar discussion occurred in January 2000. The policy remains the same as it was upon adoption in 1993.

Koeper said he would like to form a proposal to change the policy by the end of the year. Purcell said the matter needs to be extensively discussed before any changes are made.

Speed limits

Commissioners also approved officially reducing speed limits to 35 mph on county roads in the Cape Special Road District after the last of three public hearings was held Thursday. One resident of County Road 620, Larry Payne, spoke at the hearing.

Payne told commissioners he believed an ordinance setting new limits on the roads would not have an effect because drivers often do not obey limits currently posted.

The ordinance will go into effect 15 days from the date County Clerk Kara Clark Summers posts a notice in the newspaper that the ordinance has been passed. Summers planned to have the notice published Monday, which would make the ordinance take effect Aug. 1.

The ordinance also included the reduction of the speed limit along a portion of County Road 601 near Saxony Lutheran High School to 40 mph.

All county roads in Missouri have a default speed limit of 60 mph, unless a commission approves a reduction.

eragan@semissourian.com

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