Treasured cemetery a losing endeavor
By KEVIN UEDA Special to the Daily Press
PICO NEIGHBORHOOD — Within its metamorphic rock walls, the vividly colored stained-glass windows illuminate corridors lined with Italian sculptures and ceiling frescoes. The Colorado-and Italian-marble building sits upon 27 acres of lush lawn and trees that outline the home to numerous movie stars and famous Westsiders of yesteryear.
The location in question isn’t a European museum in Hollywood, but Santa Monica’s Woodlawn Cemetery. The municipal cemetery, located between Pico Boulevard and Michigan Avenue, from 14th to 17th streets, has been a city enterprise rich in history, if not revenues. Last year alone, Woodlawn lost $507,569, according to city budget reports.
Woodlawn Cemetery has been incapable of sustaining itself for at least 10 years and will require further assistance from City Hall’s general fund, said cemetery manager Gil Borboa.
This past fiscal year, City Hall subsidized Woodlawn Cemetery with $560,000 from its general fund. City officials project that for this fiscal year, the cemetery will require about $131,000 from the general fund in order to break even, according to Borboa. And next year, City Hall is estimated to subsidize the cemetery with $328,000.
City Hall Finance Director Steve Stark said the amount of subsidy fluctuates because it depends upon the amount of money required to operate the cemetery each fiscal year, which begins on July 1 and ends on June 30.
“It goes up and down based on the need of the cemetery to provide a constant level of service,” Stark said.
Woodlawn is one of several city enterprises that don’t break even and require City Hall funding, Stark said, adding the Santa Monica Pier and the Civic Center also are losing economic endeavors.
“We provide services that enhance people’s quality of life and, oftentimes, those aren’t services that generate revenues — police and fire being the most obvious of those,” Stark said.
Although Woodlawn can’t offer much in the way of revenue, it does provide stability and comfort for the relatives of those buried there, said City Councilman Herb Katz, who has three family members buried at the cemetery.
“You know it won’t be sold out from under you like a private (cemetery) could be,” Katz said.“You’re also going to get a decent upkeep and know that it’s our cemetery. There’s more
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 22, 2006. Read the original PDF.