BELLINGHAM, Wash — Bellingham's Bay View Cemetery is 135 years old.
It's a beautiful, peaceful place with towering trees and nearby Whatcom Falls. It all makes for a very attractive place to plant your earthly remains.
"People come here to be in an open, green space where it's quiet and contemplative," says Steve Janiszewski, who oversees the cemetery.
Increasingly, however, the graves at Bay View are being filled with out-of-towners.
They're taking away precious space from locals in a cemetery that's at 90% capacity.
"More and more people are coming from the greater Seattle area to bury their relatives here," says Janiszewski. "Maybe they don't have a connection to Bellingham, but we're very affordable here."
The cemetery should be self-sustaining, but it's running a $44,000 deficit. That money has had to be reimbursed through the city's general fund.
City leaders are now raising full casket burial rates by 53%. That's $3,021 for Bellingham residents -- up from $1,980.
Starting Jan. 1, non-residents will pay a 33% surcharge for a total of $4,018.
The average burial cost in King County is $5,725, according to the People's Memorial Association.
"We feel it's fair," says Janiszewski. "We have an obligation to meet the needs of Bellingham residents. We also don't want to discriminate against others coming from other areas."
Those numbers don't even include a casket. Factor that in, and Washington ranks as the 13th most expensive place in the nation to have a funeral at $8,620.
That's about 10% higher than the national average of $7,848.
There are no low-income discounts at Bay View but the city does offer a place to scatter cremated remains for $220.
The city will be closely tracking out-of-towners hoping to be buried in the cemetery and will make adjustments to that surcharge as it sees fit.