Rebecca Beacon, Columbia County medical examiner, asked commissioners on Sept. 24 for authorization to apply for a Bureau of Justice Assistance competitive grant that can award up to $100,000 for coroner and medical examiner system improvements.

Beacon told the board the grant window closes Oct. 6 and that the office would spend roughly $73,000 of the anticipated award on essential equipment: a Stryker-style electric gurney (about $40,000 plus installation), a cooler and specimen storage unit (about $12,000), locking evidence/property cabinets (about $6,000), record-keeping improvements (about $3,000), Stericycle biohazard pickup service (about $2,000 per year) and a $10,000 reserve for mass-fatality supplies and PPE. Beacon said using county-owned cooler and in-house storage would reduce monthly funeral-home storage costs that historically reached about $3,000 a month and are now roughly $300 to $600 per month.

Beacon said the requested equipment would reduce scene time, cut reliance on other agencies for lift assistance and speed investigative turnaround. "I would like to modernize our equipment," she told the board, and added the improvements would help the office pursue national accreditation through the National Association of Medical Examiners.

The board moved to authorize Beacon to apply for the federal grant, subject to county counsel review of required registrations and any procurement or contractual requirements; commissioners voted in favor. The motion did not request additional county personnel or a local match at this time.

Beacon said the application largely mirrors a submission from the previous year that missed a deadline because an administrative account issue prevented completion. She told commissioners the equipment line items are one-time purchases and that she would report back if additional resources or personnel were later requested.

The board approved the motion to authorize the application with council review; no additional county funding was committed at the meeting.