PLYMOUTH – Residents in the village of Plymouth will decide Nov. 3 on the renewal of a one-mill levy for maintenance of the Greenlawn Cemetery.
Village’s fiscal officer DiAnn Jamerson said the levy generates about $16,000 annually for upkeep at the cemetery at the intersection of Bucyrus and Riggs streets.
“It pays for things like the mowing, repairing, replacing … It can help with fixing the mausoleum. It can help with the chapel out there,” Jamerson said.
As a renewal, it will not raise taxes, which are currently about $35 on a $100,000 home.
“The only revenue the cemetery fund would generate would be from the sale of lots,” Jamerson said. “It takes a lot more money to maintain the cemetery.
“I have family out there, so I would like to see it kept maintained and in order. As a fiscal officer, this levy is important to help continue that,” she said.
The other major service the levy provides is seasonal cleanups in spring and fall. It’s something Jamerson wants people to be aware of as an unpaid service, but those who don’t are often frustrated by the sudden cleanup.
“Sometimes people are far away and they can’t get here to remove stuff on the headstones or around the headstones, and things get weathered,” Jamerson said. “People get very upset because we’re asking them, you know, to remove their stuff.
“It’s because we’re trying to make it still look very nice … we’re not doing it to be mean. Suppose there is a specific reason that somebody needs something to stay on a stone. All we need them to do is call us and let us know.”
If the levy is rejected, Plymouth Village Council would have the opportunity to put it on the ballot in the next two eligible elections. After that, “We’d have to try to find some different funding sources to keep it maintained,” Jamerson said.
