PORTLAND — A ride in a city ambulance will cost more next year, but if things don’t turn out well, a plot in a city cemetery will still be available at current prices.

The City Council took the first step Monday night in approving 2011-12 fees for a number of services — 23 pages of new charges and explanatory memos for everything from the price of a single lot in Evergreen Cemetery ($890 for residents, but $2,625 for a single in the historic section) to the daily fee for putting a boat in at East End Beach, which will double for residents to $10.

The fees will be voted on in two weeks when the council takes up the municipal budget for a final vote. The fee changes are already calculated into the proposed spending plan.

The city adjusts its fees annually to reflect changing costs and increased or decreased interest in various services.

The changes in ambulance rates, for instance, reflect changes in reimbursement rates from insurance companies and the state. The cost of specialty care transport, for instance, will jump from $840 to $1,414, while advanced life support non-emergency transport will inch up from $510 to $520, plus $16.80 a mile.

Cemetery rates, however, are steady for the upcoming year. The only difference is that lot costs at Forest City Cemetery will drop because they were incorrectly priced at the same level as lots in the more desirable Evergreen Cemetery last year. For example, a single lot in Forest City Cemetery will drop from $890 to $745.

Fees are changing at the boat ramp, even if there’s no one there to take the money.

Michael Bobinsky, the director of Public Services, wanted to add another ranger to the three that currently work at the East End Beach and Eastern Promenade. He said that, in addition to taking fees from boaters, the rangers are supposed to be monitoring compliance with city laws requiring dog owners to clean up after their pets and keep them on leashes.

He didn’t get the new ranger and said he would keep the current work force at the boat ramp at high-use times, but may have to go to an honor system — envelopes and a box for boaters to deposit their fees — at other times of day.

Fee changes include a new $20 overnight parking levy at the boat ramp and an increase in the seasonal pass for residents from $50 to $100, but that includes overnight parking.

City Councilor John Anton said he still hopes to take a systematic look at all the fees later this year.

Anton, who chairs the council’s Finance Committee, said the fees are sometimes added for a specific reason but they aren’t reassessed when things change. It’s a good idea, he said, to reconsider the fees every few years.

Staff Writer Edward D. Murphy can be contacted at 791-6465 or at: emurphy@pressherald.com