Alvin, a county staff member, told the Sullivan County Public Safety Committee that the county faces a potential gap in local post‑mortem services if it cannot secure a new pathologist before the primary pathologist retires in December.

The staff member said the candidate who responded to the county's request for proposals is based in Manhattan and told county officials she needs a higher per‑case rate to justify travel. "If we don't address this issue forthwith, the county may end up transporting the deceased to outside counties to have the post mortem grama performed," Alvin said during his report, adding that a pay adjustment would likely require parity with other part‑time doctors now serving the county.

The staffing concern comes as the county advances a separate morgue upgrade. Alvin said the county had obtained multiple quotes for new coolers and that equipment installation "comes well within budget," and that hospital engineering will forward details to the audit department for consideration. He offered to provide those numbers to legislators in a nonpublic submission because the purchases are not yet approved.

Alvin also reported public‑health and drug‑monitoring items. He noted the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's action classifying hydroxymitragamine as a controlled substance and said New York lawmakers recently approved bills to regulate kratom products and sent that package to the governor's desk. He told the committee that, year to date, opiate‑related deaths in the county have declined and that opiates account for an estimated 10 to 15 percent of deaths in recent reporting, as he described it.

For September specifically, Alvin said the county recorded 16 deaths that required medical examiner review and that four of those resulted in post‑mortem examinations; he said two of the September cases were overdose deaths. One case remained pending additional information from Albany, he added.

Discussion versus action: Alvin's report identified a staffing shortfall and asked the committee to consider a rate adjustment to retain or recruit pathologists; the committee took no vote during the public session and deferred the detailed procurement numbers for nonpublic review. No formal motion to change pay or contract terms was recorded in the public meeting.

The county's next steps, as Alvin described them, include finalizing quotes for morgue equipment and continuing recruitment discussions with potential part‑time pathologists. Alvin characterized the situation as time sensitive because the primary pathologist is scheduled to leave in December.