Bedford Borough’s Mayor should stop inflation-busting funeral cost increases to bolster the Council’s finances, according to the Deputy Leader of the Conservatives Group, Cllr Roger Rigby.
Cllr Rigby last year highlighted what he termed as the Mayor’s ‘Death Tax’ which has seen his administration increase cemetery and crematory fees by around 50% since 2010, including a 6% above-inflation increase from January this year.
This has seen costs spiral for residents and their families; in 2010 a garden burial cost £676, but the Council is now charging £1002.
Cllr Rigby is now calling on the Mayor’s Liberal Democrat and Labour Executive to stop increases for cemetery and cremation fees when it determines its fees and charges for 2018 in November. He said;
‘Mayor Hodgson has targeted the deceased and their families repeatedly with substantial cemetery and cremation fee increases in each year of his administration, with the revenue contributing to a £1.8m underspend on the Council’s budget last year.
‘It is time to give grieving families a break from the worry of meeting funeral costs at a time of great distress. There should be no increase next year.'