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Comptroller flags coroner budget shortfall; discrepancy emerges over autopsy cost
Summary
The coroner's operating budget is nearly exhausted and the comptroller said $15,000 would cover about eight autopsies at $2,000 each; another commissioner suggested autopsy costs are closer to $5,000, prompting a request to put the coroner back on the next agenda.
During the quarterly expenditures review, Comptroller Krista Klauser told the board the coroner's department has about $15,000 remaining and that, at an estimated $2,000 per autopsy, that balance would cover roughly eight autopsies. "Our autopsy is 2,000 each," Klauser said.
A commissioner questioned that estimate and suggested autopsies run closer to $5,000 each, creating a clear discrepancy in the record. "They're about That's closer to 5," the commissioner said. The board asked that the coroner come before the commission at the next meeting to clarify costs and explore funding options; Klauser said she preferred paying autopsy expenses from the coroner's capital line to preserve clearer cost-tracking unless the board directs otherwise.
The board did not adopt any immediate funding transfers at this session but instructed staff to place the coroner's budget concern on the agenda Tuesday for further discussion and to reconcile unit cost estimates.
