Churchill County public administrator asks commissioners for higher stipend, separate fund for ‘abandoned’ cases

Bob Ghetto, Churchill County public administrator, told commissioners at their November meeting that day‑to‑day costs and unrecovered case expenses have left his office operating at a tight margin and urged the board to change how the county supports public administration. "What Churchill County came to 10 years ago is that we were gonna have the Board of County Commissioners give a stipend to this office," Ghetto said, noting the county currently provides a $40,000 annual stipend.

Ghetto outlined how casework ranges from indigent decedents with no assets to estates worth thousands or millions, and described a cumbersome statutory payment model that sometimes yields little recovery for the hours spent. He said routine outlays include specialty software, a 24/7 call center, certified mailings and mileage, and that small estates can cost more to pursue than they return. "Sometimes I get $40. Sometimes I get $1,200. Who knows?" he said.

The core of Ghetto’s request was threefold: raise the annual stipend to $47,616 effective July 1, 2026; increase the hourly rate for extraordinary services (charged to estates when feasible) from the current $70 to roughly $92; and create a separate county fund, seeded with $10,000, to pay immediate cremation expenses for cases determined to be abandoned. He said the county is holding roughly seven abandoned cases now and estimated that handling seven to 10 such cases annually could cost about $10,000 in direct cremation fees and administrative work.

Shannon Ernst of Churchill County Social Services told the board the county’s indigent‑burial program and its funding stream are legally restricted and administered from social‑services tax revenue. "When you look at the indigent fund, which is NRS 4 28, it really defines what makes somebody be indigent," Ernst said, adding the county has aligned eligibility to 200 percent of poverty. She described a statutory tension between which billable expense is considered first — burial/cremation costs versus attorney and public‑administrator fees — and said a recent audit flagged 23 cases that required closer alignment between court reports and reimbursements.

Funeral director Ted Williams, of The Gardens Funeral Home, told the board mortuaries take bodies when requested and generally attempt cremation within days; under funeral‑service rules, a matter can become an indigent case after about 30 days if next of kin do not respond. "We don't turn anybody down," Williams said.

Commissioners and staff pressed Ghetto on implementation details — whether invoices had been submitted, how affidavits and district‑attorney review would assist recovery from banks, and whether an existing unused county credit card could cover interim cremation costs. County staff advised that the stipend and hourly‑rate changes should be handled through the FY2026 budget process, while the proposed $10,000 abandoned‑bodies fund could be created sooner through a separately agendized item.

After discussion and public comment in support of Ghetto's work, the board voted to approve the public administrator’s report as presented but explicitly excluded the three recommendations on page 10 (the stipend increase, the hourly rate change and the separate abandoned‑bodies fund) from that approval. Ghetto said he will pursue formal inclusion of the requests on future agendas and work with staff on the paperwork and legal interpretations required.

What happens next: Commissioners instructed staff to place any funding or fund‑creation requests on the appropriate agendas (budget cycle items for FY2026 and a separate agenda if the board wishes to create a fund before year‑end).