LaGrange City Manager Tom Hall says the city can’t win when it comes to maintaining cemeteries.

“Whatever we do, someone’s going to get angry,” he said.

The city recently received a complaint from a resident with relatives buried at Shadowlawn and Hillview East cemeteries, off Morgan Street. The resident says she has to be vigilant keeping an eye on what is placed on the graves because items get stolen, however, a family friend got upset that a prison work crew had allegedly been given permission to remove flowers from all the graves.

Prison crews are responsible for maintaining the city’s cemeteries.

“We get complaints on both sides,” Hall said. “On the other side, we have people that complain the cemetery is too disorderly.

Occasionally the crews may pick up an item that doesn’t need to be removed, and often times, items do get stolen from the cemeteries. On windy days like Wednesday, items will disappear on their own.

Hall said the city at one time discussed limiting what could be put on graves and the number of items, but abandoned the plan when there was public outcry against it.

“We do our best to respect people’s property,” he said.