It can be extremely invigorating when someone goes about their work with obvious joy. Ingrid Hannemann’s appearance in front of the Haar municipal council was such a moment for those involved. And there was no need for the confession by the representative of the Munich office Kubus right at the beginning of her presentation that she had “enjoyed” the recalculation of the fees. The fact that it was about the cemetery fees hardly detracted from the whole thing. Whereby the seriousness appropriate to the topic still came up: At the latest when the municipal councils discussed the increase recommended by Hannemann and also by the town hall, all lightness had evaporated. CSU parliamentary group leader Dietrich Keymer campaigned for the town hall line to achieve 100 percent cost coverage through the fees and to raise them significantly. A majority across the factions prevailed with a more moderate correction to 80 percent.
When money is currently being talked about in Haar, the municipal councilors all pull on a bitterly bitter face. The situation is serious in view of the high level of business tax, which is expected to bring only eleven million euros into the coffers in 2023. Keymer spoke of a “worrying” situation for the community, which makes it necessary to “cover costs to the greatest possible extent” through fees. Peter Siemsen (FDP) described it as a basic task of the municipality to regulate the funeral system and warned: “In the long run we will not be able to get our financial situation under control via the cemeteries.” Providing options for burial is one of the basic tasks of a municipality. Ulrich Leiner (Greens) warned of glaring additional costs for the citizens and pleaded for 65 percent cost recovery.
The park-like character of the Haarer Waldfriedhof is now being taken into account financially, in favor of the relatives.
(Photo: Angelika Bardehle)
“Death doesn’t come for nothing,” said Peter Paul Gantzer (SPD) and warned against an increase in “mega steps”. In comparison to other municipalities, with 100 percent coverage, Haar would ask citizens to pay an excessive amount: 1477.40 euros for an urn grave in ten years, said Gantzer, which was tough. For comparison: In Munich, 480 euros are currently due, in Kirchheim 990 euros, in Putzbrunn 420 and in Ottobrunn 2400 euros. The SPD therefore campaigned for 80 percent cost recovery as a goal. And that prevailed for the most part.
Therefore, as calculated by Ingrid Hannemann from the Kubus office in Munich, an urn grave will cost 1181.90 euros in ten years, i.e. 118.19 euros per year; a single grave in the forest cemetery 82.07 euros. It is currently 62.60 euros for a single grave. At 102.59 euros, the costs for the cemetery would have been fully covered, as Hannemann and Keymer from the CSU would have liked. According to Leiner’s wishes, it would have come to 66.68 euros.
Cycling through the cemetery is prohibited
The joy that the specialist Hannemann, in her own words, felt when the fees were recalculated only becomes apparent on closer inspection. She also cleared up some inconsistencies in the old calculation. Everything is now in line with current case law. For example, cycling in Haar cemeteries was not previously prohibited. Apparently, some people actually rode their bikes in the past, which caused trouble. This is now also regulated as a ban in the articles of association.
In addition, 15 percent of the cemetery area as a green area was excluded from the calculation of the fees, because the relatives should not pay for the park character of the cemetery and its recreational value. And the anonymous grave is no longer available for 10.40 euros a year. From Hannemann’s point of view, this is an “unreasonable” low value. It will be 28.18 euros in the future. There is now also an urn stele grave in Haar for 73.30 euros per year.