Albany County begins public discussion of switching from coroner to medical examiner and exploring regional autopsy facility

Albany County held a public hearing and received a lengthy staff presentation on proposed local law N (2024), which would amend the county charter to allow the county to switch from the current coroner model to a medical examiner model. County staff framed the discussion as preliminary and exploratory; the chair indicated no motion to move the law would be taken that evening.

Rebecca Kennedy, majority counsel, and Faye Betters, data analytics and performance management coordinator in the county’s management and budget office, presented a slide-based comparison of coroner and medical examiner models in New York and summarized several implementation options: keep the current coroner model and continue contracting for autopsies; convert to a medical examiner system and continue contracting with a hospital; or convert to a medical examiner system and pursue a regional autopsy facility owned and operated by participating counties.

Staff noted Albany County currently uses a coroner model with four elected coroners and one full-time employee. Autopsy demand and related costs have risen: 396 coroner cases in 2023 were cited, and County budget lines for laboratory fees and services rose 44% from 2024 to 2025, medical services and therapy rose 18%, and coroner per-diem increased 25% for the budget period noted. The county’s current autopsy rate with Ellis Hospital is $1,200; Ellis was the sole bidder for those services.

Staff pointed to a nationwide shortage of board-certified forensic pathologists and said a regional center could provide shared resources and higher-quality, consolidated services. The presentation referenced a Warren County feasibility study estimating capital costs of about $27 million to build a regional facility (including land and equipment) and annual operating costs of $2–3 million with potential revenue of $1.3–2.6 million depending on fees and services. Staff emphasized these figures were from Warren County’s study and would need local analysis.

Legislators asked about board-certified pathologists, staffing formulas (the NA*ME cap of ~250 autopsies per medical examiner was mentioned), reuse of existing facilities, and whether counties that currently use coroner models would be interested in a regional facility. Several neighboring counties were said to have expressed interest in exploratory conversations, and staff described the work as the beginning of a staged planning process. No formal action was taken; the presentation will inform future discussions and potential staged proposals.