One of the key recommendations is to employ a part-time cemetery officer who will co-ordinate with grave diggers and funeral directors to make everything run smoothly at a time when families are grieving for loved ones.

According to council’s group manager community and relationships Leanne Barnes, the review has been ongoing for

several years.

“Council identified a few issues of concern with cemeteries some time ago,” she said.

“There were some financial, record keeping and Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) issues which resulted in council contracting out its grave digging and from that time there were a few more issues which were shown up.”

Ms Barnes said an independent peer assessment had been conducted by Pierre du Parte, bereavement services manager for Shoalhaven City Council.

Mr Du Parte was given freedom to review all aspects of council’s cemetery management and burial administration practices.

He spoke with cemetery committees, funeral directors and council’s contract grave digger.

As well as the issues already known by council, the review indentified several more including booking arrangements, asset procurement and budget allocations.

Ms Barnes said in addition to Mr Du Parte’s review, council staff also held several meetings with representatives of the general cemeteries committee as well as with individual cemetery committees.

“This review will not impact on the work the committees do as they are vital and we can’t do what we do without them,” she said.

“The basis for it is that we want to streamline and make it easier for everyone to deal with what is a horrible time for families and when they are at their most vulnerable.”

There are 13 cemeteries in the Bega Valley Shire and nine have management committees that have bank accounts, collect and expend funds on council’s behalf, carry out maintenance activities, with many keeping burial and plot reservation records.

Ms Barnes said there was an option for the shire to close some of those cemeteries and make them “historic” but intended to keep them all open.

“There is strong community attachment and interest in the local cemeteries and we understand that,” she said.

“We will however, centralise the bank accounts at council but have the money quarantined for the various cemeteries so the money each raises will be spent there.

“We will also bring the records into council where the committees can work on them if they wish.”

The proposed cemetery officer will be employed for 21 hours a week with, hopefully, those hours spread over the five days, Ms Barnes said.

“That way there will be someone to co-ordinate with funeral directors in a much easier way than is happening at the moment.”

Bega funeral director John Whyman welcomed the proposed changes and said he hoped they would lead to better and less traumatic services for the bereaved families.

“For years cemeteries have been run by volunteer committees who have always performed a sterling service,” he said.

“I think the new ideas are good, but I hope the hours proposed for the cemetery officer are sufficient.”

In a report to the Bega Valley Shire Council meeting on Tuesday, council was told staff agreed with the vast majority of the recommendations made by Mr Du Parte in his review.

A list of recommendations was presented which council adopted with a few minor adjustments.

The recommendations included such things as a cemetery volunteer induction program; capital asset procurement protocols; an urgent asset inventory be undertaken; all existing funds held by cemetery committees be returned to council; a standardised billing procedure with funeral directors; a system of grave markers be implemented for reservations and post-burial and a cemetery management plan with references to each cemetery committee be developed.

The full recommendations can be viewed on council’s website.