§ 2-606. Responsibility for cemetery administration and maintenance.

(a) The general administration and maintenance of the municipal cemeteries shall be the responsibility of the cemetery manager who shall be an employee of the city and subject to all rules, policies and procedures governing all employees of the city.

(b) The cemetery manager is hereby empowered and required to enforce all rules and regulations provided by this article and to exclude from the cemeteries any person violating the same.

(c) The duties of the cemetery manager shall be as follows:

(1) Attendance at cemetery. At a minimum, the cemetery manager shall be available from 8:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. on Monday through Friday or have one (1) employee present in his absence who is competent in performing the duties of the cemetery manager in order to discharge those duties without delay. The cemetery administrative office in the municipal administration building shall be open during all normal business hours of the city.

(2) Assistance to the public. The cemetery manager shall aid and assist the public in the locating of burial spaces, entombment crypts and inurnment niches or in interpreting the meaning of this article and shall take such steps as are necessary for the protection and convenience of all funeral service attendees.

(3) Supervision of cemetery maintenance. The cemetery manager shall supervise city employees in the general care and maintenance of the municipal cemeteries.

(4) Examination of burial permits. The cemetery manager shall require and examine burial permits and shall refuse burial, entombment or inurnment until such permit shall comply with the state law and the restrictions of the city.

(5) Location of burial space. The cemetery manager shall locate the burial space and authorize the opening of the grave, crypt or niche before work by any party shall commence and shall prepare and issue to the funeral director the vault and casket identification tags required by subsection 2-631(d). The cemetery manager shall locate the burial space and authorize the placement of a monument or marker before a monument or marker shall be set or engraved by any party.

(6) Record of burials, entombments and inurnments. The cemetery manager shall keep complete and accurate records at the cemetery office of the names of the deceased, the lot, section and plot in which the burial is made, or the mausoleum wall, row and crypt in which an entombment is made, or columbarium wall, row and niche in which an inurnment is made, the date of burial, entombments, or inurnment, and the name of the funeral director conducting the funeral. Duplicate records shall be maintained and updated on a regular basis which shall be stored with the official records of the city in the municipal administration building.

(7) Sale of lots, plots, crypts and niches. The cemetery administrator shall sell such lots, plots, crypts and niches in the municipal cemeteries as authorized by the city commission and at the price established by the city commission. The cemetery administrator shall cause to be issued a certificate of ownership of interment rights upon payment of the whole amount by the purchaser and shall cause the cemetery manager to place a permanent maker on all ground burial lots which indicates the contract number and date of sale.

(8) Record of plots, crypts and niches sold. The cemetery manager shall keep a plat book of the cemeteries on which shall be shown all plots, crypts and niches which are sold or are for sale, and a record made of the date, name of purchaser and amount received for each sale.

(9) Reports. The cemetery administrator shall make annual reports to the finance director on a form developed by the finance department showing the total number of interments, entombments and inurnments with other pertinent information, including a statement of the lots, crypts and niches sold or transferred and funds received for such sales and transfers.

(Ord. No. 2009-32, § 1, 12-15-09; Ord. No. 2015-05, § 1, 08-04-15)