Lake coroner wants budget adjustments
The Lake County Coroner is making adjustments to the department’s 2021 budget for parttime employees and an attorney in response to changes around the department.
Coroner Merrilee Frey has requested $20,000 for part-time employees and $40,000 for an attorney — from the general fund — for the 2021 budget in anticipation of an end to grant funds and pro bono legal services.
Historically, Frey said, the organ and tissue donor organization Gift of Hope paid a facility fee to use the Lake County morgue when a family chooses to donate a loved ones bone or tissue. In turn, the facility fee funds were used to pay part-time investigators, Frey said.
During the Sept. 1 and Sept. 8 budget meetings, Frey said that the Gift of Hope officials told her that it will no longer use the Lake County morgue, which means less funding for part-time employees. That’s why she requested $20,000 from the general fund for part-time employees, Frey said.
But, during an interview with the Post-Tribune on Thursday, Frey said that Gift of Hope officials recently told her that they are reconsidering that decision.
For the last eight years, the coroner’s office has received free legal representation, when needed, and that she looked to other organizations for legal assistance, Frey said.
“I have been very blessed. I look to the Indiana State Coroner’s Training Board to answer a lot of my questions and help. I just try to use common sense in addressing legalities and making sure we get things out,” Frey said.
Frey said she plans to retain Hammond attorney John Cantrell when legal issues arise. Legal issues can come out of the human resource department and “any family-related concerns that can come up,” Frey said.
Frey also requested $15,000 for personal protective equipment. But, Finance Director Scott Schmal said that the PPE request will likely get reimbursed through state funds.
Through CARES Act funds, the state is accepting reimbursements from counties for COVID-related expenses, Schmal said. Of $15 million CARES Act funds allocated to Lake County, the county has so far filed reimbursements for approximately $300,000 to cover PPE, hand sanitizer, plexiglass and some overtime for the health department, Schmal said.
During the budget meetings, Frey said that her department has seen a 42% increase in death investigations in 2020, so far, compared to the same time frame in 2019.
The challenge with the increase in death investigations,
Frey said, is that during the pandemic all Indiana coroner departments have to administer COVID-19 tests before conducting an autopsy.
“So, with that, the deceased remain in our care for several days prior to autopsy while we’re waiting for those results to return from the Indiana State Department of Health laboratory,” Frey said.
Currently, the department has cooler space for 16 bodies, but more is needed under the circumstances, Frey said. Frey told the council that the Lake County Board of Commissioners are helping the department get more cooler space.
The 2021 budget is not final yet, Schmal said. The first reading of the budget was deferred from Sept. 15 to Sept. 29 because the advertised budget amount was lower than the proposed budget for a few funds, Schmal said.
The budget is still on track to be approved on Oct. 13, he said.