Financial operations of Saint Joseph Cemetery
The past fiscal year was a stable one. We continued using a barebones work crew in the cemetery. There was no additional summer help added to the workforce, as had been the case in prior years. We continued economizing while maintaining the overall beauty and utility of the Cemetery. Over the past three years, there have been 327 internments. While this is a significant number, the greater financial impact was that the nature of the burials have changed from 100% full body burials to the present in which cremations account for 40- 45% of total internments. During the 2016 – 2017 fiscal year, there were 89 internments, of which 45 were cremations.
Because the cemetery experienced a reduction in total internments and since cremations are becoming a very significant part of cemetery statistics, the income generated at the cemetery has dropped, causing the cemetery to be unable to meet its financial obligations to St. Joseph parish for payrolls and other expenses paid for by the parish for the Cemetery. At the end of the fiscal year, the indebtedness of the cemetery to St. Joseph parish amounted to $64,448.19.
The following is a summary of Revenue and Expenses over the past five years:
2016-2017 2015-2016 2014-2015 2013-2014 2012-2013
Interments 86 111 97 86 93
Total Revenue $117,309 $170,846 $152,650 $128,308 $142,478
Total Expenses $183,483 $169,632 $180,019 $183,947 $178,815
Net Income/Loss ($66,174) $1,214 ($27,369) ($55,693) ($36,337)
The overall change in Revenue was -17.5% while Expenses had an increase of 2.6%