Neosho County appoints temporary district coroner; commission raises monthly fee

Neosho County commissioners appointed a temporary district coroner on a motion passed during today’s meeting and approved a change to the monthly fee paid to the district coroner and the coroner’s assistant.

The appointment followed notice the county received in December that district coroner Dr. Scott Coats had moved outside Kansas and could no longer serve under the state requirement that a coroner reside in Kansas. The commission moved to appoint Rick (referred to in the swearing as “Rady Breck”) as temporary district coroner for the 30‑First District pending recruitment of a medical doctor to hold the district post.

The action matters because the 30‑First District covers multiple counties and the largest county — Neosho County — has responsibility to appoint the district coroner and administer shared costs. Commissioners also addressed how autopsy and call‑out expenses are billed among participating counties and said they will send notice and bills to the other counties in the district.

In addition to the appointment, commissioners voted to set the district coroner’s monthly fee at $400 and the assistant coroner’s monthly fee at $300. Commissioners discussed historical payment arrangements, noting that some prior district coroners had not charged a salary and that reimbursements from other counties and state reimbursements for qualifying deaths vary. The county indicated it will follow up with the state and the other counties about shared billing and reimbursement procedures.

County staff said the new temporary appointee must be sworn in and that the swearing‑in will be filed with the Kansas Department of Statistics as required. Commissioners also discussed operational details the coroner’s office raised, including documentation of calls and inventory for supplies, and asked that the new appointee (and assistant) review autopsy and billing records to help clarify charges before future invoices are paid by the county.

The appointment vote was taken during the meeting; the commission recorded the motion as approved. The commission also approved sending a thank‑you note to Dr. Coats for his years of service and for not charging a fee while he served as district coroner.