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County Budget-Cutters Target Burial Assistance

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 2, 2007

Every year, hundreds of people who die in Hillsborough County have no one willing or able to bury them.

Sometimes next of kin can't be found. Other times, those relatives can't afford a burial.

Hillsborough County has a program to help them, offering a choice of burial or cremation at taxpayers' expense.

But in light of budget cuts, the county plans to take away that choice by offering cremation only.

Eliminating the burials is expected to save the county about $100,000 a year.

The county commission is scheduled to vote on the proposal at its meeting Wednesday.

Metro, Page 1

•Last year, the county paid for 361 cremations and 75 burials, at a cost of about $280 for each cremation and $1,400 for each burial.

•More recently, the county has paid $342 per cremation and $1,533 per burial.

•Hillsborough does not pay for grave markers. But Medical Examiner Vernard Adams said relatives of the deceased tend to erect monuments years later.

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