Neosho County seeks medical doctor to serve as district coroner; officials discuss charging cremation permit fees
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Summary
County officials were told state law requires a medical doctor as district coroner after Dr. Coates stepped down. Acting coroner described an active search and said counties could consider charging cremation-permit fees to offset coroner costs.
Neosho County commissioners were told at their June 3 budget work session that Kansas law requires a certified medical doctor to hold the office of district coroner, and that the county needs to actively recruit a replacement after the recent resignation of Dr. Coates.
Acting district coroner Rick, who said he is authorized to serve as a special deputy coroner under state guidelines while a medical doctor is found, briefed the commission on the status of district coronial operations and possible funding options.
The coroner described the statutory requirement as a constraint on local appointments and said the district has been advertising with limited response. “We a dentist could actually do it. Is that correct or not?” a commissioner asked; Rick replied that under Kansas law the district coroner must be a medical doctor or surgeon and that historical practice allowed some broader authority when autopsies were performed on-site, but current practice sends much forensic work to regional facilities and the medical-doctor requirement remains.
Officials discussed operational details the office currently handles. Rick said the coroner’s office reviewed 291 cremation-related cases over the prior 12 months and advised commissioners that several counties now charge a cremation permit fee; he provided a rough estimate that a $50 permit would yield roughly $6,400 in revenue from Neosho County’s caseload last year. He said implementing a local cremation-permit fee would require coordination with clerks and funeral homes and attention to federal trade rules for funeral disclosures.
Commissioners pressed Rick on staffing and costs. He said the district has been billing other counties twice a year to recoup part of the office fee and that if the county hires a medical doctor coroner, the compensation the district would pay that doctor would likely rise because the position moves from voluntary service toward contracted compensation in other districts. He noted Sedgwick County’s coroner budget exceeds $200,000, illustrating scale differences between urban and rural districts.
No formal motions were made at the budget session; commissioners asked staff to continue active recruitment and to report back with recommended compensation and any policy changes needed to implement a cremation-permit fee.
The county will continue to rely on acting special-deputy arrangements while a medical doctor is sought; Rick said he will notify commissioners if he is approached by physicians willing to serve or if a local candidate emerges.
Ending: The commission did not set a hiring timetable during the session but instructed staff to continue recruitment and to provide follow-up cost estimates and a draft fee approach if commissioners decide to pursue a cremation-permit charge.
