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Coroner seeks more toxicology funding, overtime pay and an administrative position as caseloads rise
Summary
The Arapahoe County coroner's office told commissioners it needs more budget for toxicology testing, overtime policy changes for investigators, and one additional administrative FTE; staff also discussed possible family-assistance and forensic-epidemiologist roles and evaluated whether body transport should be performed in-house.
The Arapahoe County Coroner presented midyear budget priorities centered on rising toxicology costs and staffing needs tied to increasing death investigations.
Office leadership said toxicology testing costs have increased about $20,000 per year and the office relies on federal and state grants (Coverdell and CDPHE reimbursements) that will not fully cover demand going forward. Staff described basic toxicology panels (roughly $150'$250 per sample depending on the panel) and noted that complex poisonings or forensic toxicology work can cost thousands for a single case. The Coroner said the federal Coverdell grant that had been reimbursing part of toxicology was slated for a substantial federal cut and that the current Coverdell grant (annual ~$67,000) is set to expire in Sept. 2026.
The coroner asked for two ongoing operating changes: authority to pay overtime to death investigators (investigators currently accrue comp time and routinely cannot use it) and a new administrative specialist to absorb clerical work (open-records requests, death certificate processing, data projects) that currently falls on investigators and autopsy technicians. Coroner staff said investigators had preferred an administrative backfill rather than adding another death investigator.
Officials discussed programs being considered: a family-assistance coordinator (social-work function supporting families after a death) and a forensic epidemiologist for public-health data and grant development; Coroner leadership said Denver County funds similar positions by grant and that these are important but may be grant-dependent. On body transport costs, staff described outsourced transport (approx. $160,000/year historically) and said Denver County operates an in-house transport team (six employees) but that the in-house model requires significant operations and staffing; Coroner staff said an in-house transport program would be feasible only with sufficient upfront investment and staffing and should be studied further.
Commissioners asked for line-item cost estimates for toxicology and overtime scenarios and for a more detailed analysis of the transport-in-house option before any final budget decisions.
Next steps: Coroner staff will provide precise toxicology budget projections, a cost estimate for investigator overtime vs. comp-time policy change, and an analysis of in-house versus contracted transport costs for the 2026 budget cycle.
