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Commissioners approve county burial assistance after incomplete application
Summary
The board approved county assistance for a deceased county resident when funeral-home paperwork and contact information for a next of kin were incomplete; staff confirmed the decedent was a county resident and the funeral home had provided limited information.
The Fall River County Board of Commissioners approved county burial assistance for a resident after county staff confirmed residency but said the funeral-home paperwork provided limited contact information for the next of kin.
At the meeting, a staff member (Sue) reported that the individual was confirmed to be a county resident and that the funeral home had provided only sparse information; the daughter who had arranged services could not be reached and a listed phone number was shut off. The staff member said the decedent was on Medicare; the funeral home representative in the meeting said they had not been able to collect additional documentation or details.
A commissioner made a motion to approve the assistance, noting it would be unfair to deny a claim when the county could not obtain more information, and another commissioner seconded the motion. The board voted by voice to approve the county assistance; the motion carried.
No specific dollar amount was read into the public record during the discussion. The board’s action was administrative approval of county assistance under existing county practices for indigent burials and does not create a change in policy recorded during the meeting.
The staff member said the deceased had lived by Smithwick and that the county would proceed with payment to the funeral provider as permitted under county assistance procedures.
