Danville will charge a 10 percent penalty when a funeral home does not pay for burial services at city cemeteries within 30 days, but a date for the policy to go into effect has not been set. Commissioners said time is needed to communicate the plan with the funeral homes and allow them to clear their balances.
The same type of order was offered in a motion in 1990, but died for lack of a second.
"Some of these delinquencies are - well, we're not a bank, let's just put it that way," Commissioner Terry Crowley said.
Commissioner Gail Louis said she thinks the homes have to deal with insurance companies, and noted how slowly they are known to pay. She said she realizes funerals "are quite expensive now."
"I don't pretend to know the business of each and every funeral home, but most of them collect right away and begin finance charges as high as 15 percent on unpaid bills," Stansbury said. He said he had a lady come to him very upset to find out the funeral home had not paid the bill for a family member's funeral because she had to borrow the money from the bank to pay the funeral home.
