Cowlitz County coroner reports surge in autopsies, fentanyl deaths; finances bolstered by state reimbursements and a late grant

Cowlitz County finance and coroner staff told the county commissioners on Tuesday that the coroner’s office has had a notably busy start to the year, with multiple autopsies, overdoses and suicides and limited offsetting revenues so far.

The county’s finance director, Cathy Funk Baxter, said the coroner’s intergovernmental revenue line shows about $42,000 received for autopsy cost reimbursements from the state and roughly $62,000 in grant funding that was reported in 2024 but not received until 2025. Those two items make up the bulk of the roughly $141,000 budgeted for the year in that revenue category.

The coroner’s office is supported by the general fund and Baxter cautioned that its revenues will not equal expenditures. Staffing and professional forensic services are the largest expense items. Baxter said personnel were…