County coroner urges full-time position and bigger toxicology budget after surge in cases

Alyssa Enri, the elected Warrick County coroner, told the commission she is asking the board to make the coroner’s office a full-time position and to increase budget lines for medical supplies and lab testing after a year of heavy caseloads. “We saw 972 deaths last year that ran through our office,” Enri said, arguing that current part-time staffing and 12-hour shift rotations leave serious gaps in case continuity.

Enri said overdoses and suicide investigations are up and that toxicology costs have risen as labs test for newer “designer” substances. She told commissioners some specialist toxicology panels can cost “anywhere up to like $800,” and asked for larger line items for lab and toxicology fees so the office can meet statutory obligations without shifting money from autopsy lines. Enri also said the state no longer subsidizes an electronic medical-record service for coroners and that maintaining an electronic case record now requires an added contractual expense.

Commissioners discussed options including moving the elected coroner to full-time status or hiring additional staff; county personnel staff said the two available workarounds are hiring a full-time employee or expanding the number of part-time hires so benefits thresholds are managed. Enri said the request is intended to preserve investigative capacity and continuity: if the office reverts to a part-time structure, she warned, casework could again fall behind.