CORRECTION: The cemetery district receives a share of general property tax from each property within its district, according to Kathleen Rollings-McDonald, executive officer of the San Bernardino Local Agency Formation Commission, which oversees special districts. In the cemetery district’s audit for 2004-2005, the cemetery district received $75,115 in general property tax.
The cemetery district also receives its funding through the sale of burial plots and fees for opening and closing a grave site. A portion of funding from burial cost sales goes to an endowment fund, which maintains the district in perpetuity, Rollings-McDonald said.
BARSTOW • After a year-long investigation into the possibility that the Barstow Cemetery District mismanaged its funds, the Grand Jury is asking the county to research assuming control over the 63-year-old district.
In a report released Wednesday, the San Bernardino County Grand Jury concluded that the cemetery district — which runs Mt. View Memorial Park north of Barstow city limits — needed help in maintaining its budget, conducting financial audits and paying its bills. This conclusion comes after the San Bernardino County Local Agency Formation Commission, which oversees independent districts, noticed discrepancies in the cemetery district’s budget. LAFCO filed a complaint with the Grand Jury last year.
The Grand Jury determined that if both parties agreed, the county could takeover the cemetery district. Cemetery district superintendent, Frank Lopez Jr., said his board could comply with that recommendation. But according to County Spokesman David Wert, the county may not be interested in taking over the Barstow Cemetery District.
In October 2008, after staff reported that the cemetery district paid out almost as much in benefits as it did in salaries for the 2006-07 fiscal year, the LAFCO board recommended the district be dissolved. LAFCO staff also reported that money was taken out of the cemetery district’s endowment fund, the principal of which is supposed to be off-limits. The district’s general fund also showed dramatic fluctuations.
According to LAFCO, the district’s general fund from 2004-05 to 2005-06 dropped from more than $1 million to $67,250. The report stated that during the 2006-07 fiscal year the district paid out $101,412 in benefits for two employees, which was nearly as much as it paid in salaries, $117,839.
Lopez said the Grand Jury’s report didn’t address LAFCO’s question about the fluctuations in the district’s general fund from 2004-05 to 2005-06. LAFCO had misread the district’s budget, he said. The $1 million was split evenly across the district’s entire budget not just its general fund.
As for a county takeover, Lopez said pursuing that would have to be a board decision. The cemetery district board hasn’t reviewed the Grand Jury’s report yet, he said Thursday.
County takeover of the cemetery district would also require approval from the Board of Supervisors, Wert said. Unlike other public entities, which operate on tax revenue, the cemetery district supports itself by selling burial plots, making its funding stream unsteady. Once the cemetery runs out of space and no one else is getting buried, the funding stream dries up, Wert said.
“If the county takes over, the county would be in the cemetery business,” he said.
For the county to take over the cemetery district’s operations, it would have to undergo an application process through LAFCO. The takeover would require approval from the LAFCO commission.
Contact the writer:
(760) 256-4123 or jcejnar@desertdispatch.com
The Grand Jury’s recommendations:
• San Bernardino Local Agency Formation Commission, the county special districts department and the Auditor-Controller/Recorder meet with Barstow Cemetery District supervisor and board to provide them with rules they are to follow.
• Special Districts look into taking over the cemetery and determine what changes would be necessary in order for the cemetery to afford the takeover.
• Cemetery district officials contact LAFCO, the Auditor-Controller/Recorder and special districts department and ask for help.
• The cemetery district find a bookkeeper, keep monthly financial statements and do an annual budget.
• Cemetery district find a new auditing firm to present financial audits in a more timely manner.
• Cemetery district start budgeting so it can operate without losing money.
• Cemetery district look into the possibility of drilling its own well for water.
• The cemetery district contact the California Association of Special Districts and consider joining so it can save money on health insurance and workers compensation insurance.
http://www.desertdispatch.com/news/jury-8782-barstow-recommends.html
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