San Juan County Council on Dec. 23 appointed Tamara Green, office manager in the prosecuting attorney's office, as interim San Juan County coroner effective Jan. 1, 2025, after the council discussed a recent legislative change removing the prosecuting attorney as ex officio coroner for smaller counties.

Prosecuting attorney Amy (identified in the meeting as Amy Vira) told the council the legislature's change "effective January 1, 2025" means counties must either appoint a coroner or send the office to voters. She said her office had been the ex officio coroner for counties under 40,000 population and that the change creates an immediate need for an appointed official or another arrangement.

Amy recommended appointing Tamara Green on an interim basis while the county develops a longer-term solution and proposed compensation guidance: a $1,000-a-month base plus a higher callout fee than the current deputy-coroner payment (currently $150). "I would suggest $1,000 a month base and then a callout fee that is greater than the 150 now, so maybe, like, 300, per callout," Amy said. Council members discussed tailoring the callout pay to account for travel and duration, proposing $300 per callout with an hourly rate beyond a two-hour threshold for long travel, and agreed the county manager should have authority to negotiate technical payroll language.

Council moved and seconded a resolution to appoint Tamara Green as interim coroner beginning Jan. 1, 2025; the motion passed by voice vote. Council and the prosecuting attorney noted the appointment is temporary, that required training for coroners is scheduled in March with a July 1 statutory deadline, and that the arrangement should be revisited after initial implementation and training requirements are addressed.

Tamara Green attended the meeting and was thanked by councilmembers for stepping into a challenging role; the council asked that compensation and workflow details be finalized with county payroll and the county manager before the resolution is signed.