Ada County approves additional $100,000 contingency for coroner to cover temporary pathology services; office seeks added forensic staff

Ada County commissioners on June 17 approved a $100,000 contingency allocation for the coroner’s office to secure temporary pathologist services and provide an overlap period while new pathologist staff come on board.

Coroner (John, name given in meeting remarks) told the board the office had previously requested additional funding and that the newly approved $100,000 is intended to pay for rented pathologist services and to allow about a two-month overlap between existing and incoming pathologists so the new hire can acclimate and enable current staff to catch up. The coroner said activity is “well ahead of the five‑year average” and described recent work supporting a multi‑fatality incident from Fremont County that required autopsy, identification and coordination with foreign consulates for DNA…