Pierce County establishes new medical‑examiner authorization fee and process, rejects higher increase

Pierce County’s council approved an ordinance Nov. 18 creating an authorization process for disposition of human remains in the medical examiner’s office and set a $100 fee intended to support an additional full‑time equivalent position.

Andrea Kelly, council staff, briefed the council that the program would “review all death certificates in Pierce County, ensuring that the cause and manner of death recorded are reviewed and verified or amended if applicable with an additional examination if and when necessary.” She said the associated $100 fee would support an additional FTE in the medical examiner’s office and that an updated fiscal note estimates roughly $1.04 million in revenue over the biennium.

Councilmembers debated a committee amendment to raise the fee to $150. Supporters said higher fees might be justified and could better fund the program; opponents said $150 would impose extra hardship on families already managing difficult circumstances and noted neighboring counties charge $100. The amendment failed on a voice vote; the underlying ordinance establishing the process and the $100 fee passed on a unanimous roll call.

Council discussion also focused on implementation timing and data. The medical examiner’s office told the council that the primary cost is one FTE (roughly $147,000 annually) and that the fee structure and workload estimates were informed by comparisons to King and Clark counties, which the staff said charge $100 for similar services.

Next steps: the office will proceed with implementation and staff will report back with operational details and workload data as the program starts.