Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Health Indigent Services topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
County coroner suggests raising indigent cremation payment from $1,200 toward $1,500 amid rising caseload
Summary
The coroner said the county’s indigent cremation reimbursement ($1,200) has not been reviewed since 2012 and recommended increasing the payment to roughly $1,500 to align with regional practice as caseloads rise.
Chantelle (last name not specified), speaking on indigent services and coroner-related budget items, told commissioners that the county’s reimbursed amount for indigent cremations — $1,200 — has not been updated since February 2012 and appears low compared with neighboring counties.
Chantelle said a review of regional practice found many nearby counties pay between $1,500 and $1,800 for cremation and that Bannock County is near the bottom of the range. She said local funeral homes report most counties in the area pay $1,500–$1,800 and only a few still pay $1,200. Chantelle and commissioners discussed caseload trends: last year the county recorded 43 cremations, and year-to-date counts are at 39; commissioners and staff considered a conservative annual projection of about 60 cremations for budget planning.
County staff and commissioners discussed budget scenarios. One commissioner suggested raising the indigent cremation payment to $1,500 and noted that increasing the per-case payment combined with rising case numbers could substantially raise the county’s budget for direct assistance. Staff said they had not used the full $50,000 indirect-assistance allocation in recent years but that rising cremation counts could require a larger appropriation.
No formal fee change or appropriation was approved at the hearing; commissioners asked staff to monitor trends and consider moving to a higher dollar-per-case amount when preparing a final budget.
