I want to urge everyone in the Pine River Cemetery District to vote “yes” on the last item on the ballot, number 5D. This is the cemetery district’s request for a mill-levy increase. It is a very small increase, and the need for it is great if we want to have a properly and well-maintained cemetery in Bayfield.

Revenue has fallen with the decline of property valuation in the last few years, and expenses have continued to increase. Equipment needs to be repaired or replaced, trees need to be trimmed for safety purposes, the blacktop needs to be maintained and ordinary expenses such as insurance, water, grass seeding and mowing need to be paid. Current revenue just simply won’t support all of these expenses. Some services (such as snow plowing in the winter) have already had to be curtailed, and I hope we don’t have to do more.

I am certainly willing to pay an increased mill levy. I am a native of Bayfield and have many relatives buried in this cemetery. I plan to be there some day, too. It is part of our heritage and should be a beautiful resting place for all of us. I do not want it to be neglected, especially because of a lack of money, when a fix is so easily attained – a small amount that most of us won’t even miss. The requested mill levy of 0.15 would be less than $5 per year on a typical home.

Remember, vote “yes” on 5D, the last item on the ballot!

Joanne Hickman McCoy

Bayfield