Cemetery managers defend fees

<br>OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ Burial costs in Oklahoma can run into the thousands of dollars, but the prices have their defenders who say that's just what it costs to do business now. <br><br>``If a person

Monday, November 4th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ Burial costs in Oklahoma can run into the thousands of dollars, but the prices have their defenders who say that's just what it costs to do business now.

``If a person hasn't shopped for cars since 1980 when you could buy a Z-28 Camaro for $7,500, and they walked in today to buy one, they would be shocked,'' said Tod Dennis, general manager of Del City's Sunny Lane Cemetery. Dennis said the same principle applies to his line of work.

``The fact is it has inflated the same as everything else.''

A survey by the Daily Oklahoman puts the average cost of an Oklahoma cemetery plot at about $700 with prices ranging from $600 to $4,495. That does not include what cemeteries charge for opening and closing a grave.

That service costs $895 at Sunny Lane and Dennis said it covers more than just digging a hole. He said the fee also pays for having a crew on standby, a tent and funeral setup, training workers and keeping records of grave sites. Dennis said there is also maintenance involved as graves settle and floral arrangements and grass die.

The U.S. Senate is considering whether cemeteries should have to itemize costs for customers the way funeral homes are required to do. Senator Christopher Dodd of Connecticut has asked for a report on cemetery practices but the Senate has not acted on the issue.

Oklahoma City funeral director Joe Kernke said regulations for cemeteries is a good idea.

``We've had to operate under rules for about 20 years,'' he said. ``The state licensing agency for funeral homes does not have any authority over the regulation of cemeteries. This again really makes a true division of the business that the public never sees.''

Kernke, who has been in the funeral business for more than 40 years, said cemetery expenses have risen significantly since the early 1990s. He said opening and closing costs were about $300 then and now frequently approach $1,000. Kernke also said the cost of plots has doubled at some cemeteries.

Kernke said prices have risen because of corporate buyouts of local businesses.

Lisa Carlson, executive director of the Funeral Consumers Alliance, said honorably discharged U.S. veterans, their spouses and children are entitled to free plots and other related items at national cemeteries. In Oklahoma, those cemeteries are at Fort Sill and Fort Gibson.