One coastal city is turning to the dead to raise funds in lean budget times.

The City of Brunswick is charging more for access to municipal graveyards.

Brunswick this week went up on cemetery fees -- a steep hike from $200 to $900 on weekdays and from $250 to $950 on weekends.

Richard Parker of the private Brunswick Memorial Park Cemetery and Funeral Home says, the increase should have happened years ago.

"Well, they haven't gone up in 24 years and I don't know of anything that hasn't gone up," Parker says. "Brunswick, Georgia is not the only municipality that is having budget crunches. Any other municipality that has cemeteries, they're hurting, too."

An official with the Georgia Municipal Cemeteries Association says, Brunswick's fee sounds in line with private cemeteries.

Brunswick city officials say, they increased fees to keep them in line with the market values.

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