The Luzerne County Coroner’s Office budget would increase 54.6% under the proposed 2023 spending plan submitted by county Manager Randy Robertson, according to a worksheet posted Monday.
Prior coroner Francis Hacken had highlighted staffing and funding shortages in the office shortly before he resigned Sept. 9. Jillian Matthews is set to start as the new coroner Oct. 31.
The coroner’s office is among several department budgets set to be presented at tonight’s work session, which follows a 5 p.m. public hearing on the proposed budget.
According to the coroner’s office budget worksheet:
Overall expenses would rise from $662,419 to $1.02 million, for an increase of $361,513.
On the revenue side, receipts are projected to increase from $166,000 to $238,000.
Cremation permits are the main driver of the rising revenue. The administration wants to increase the cremation fee from $60 to $80, estimating the change would generate an additional $68,000.
In turn, the cremation fee could fund an additional senior field investigator/lab assistant position the administration has included in the proposed budget to address workload demands, it said. This additional position would boost the office from four to five positions.
Among the other proposed spending increases:
• On-call wages, from $5,000 to $10,000, to provide a $100 stipend to funeral directors, known as per diems, for days they are willing to be on call to handle death response. If assistance is required while they are on-call, the per diems would receive the usual fee to respond — a flat $100 and another $75 to $125 to transport the deceased to the county morgue.
• Overtime wages, from $3,000 to $25,000, to cover extra response after hours by the field investigator.
• The budget lines to pay per diems would collectively rise from $114,000 to $143,000 because these independent contractors would be used more to cut down on overtime for full-time staffers.
The worksheet indicates these expenses could be reduced if the coroner’s office receives a second new position in addition to the one requested from the general fund budget. Robertson has said the administration was looking at covering an additional position through a portion of upcoming opioid litigation settlement funding.
The county is expected to receive $25.4 million in compensation from litigation against opioid manufacturers and wholesale distributors, officials have said.
In other coroner’s office requests, the allocation for forensic examinations is budgeted to rise from $200,000 to $380,000 to cover autopsies, X-ray services and DNA tests, the worksheet says. The earmark for toxicology screenings would increase from $90,000 to $150,000.
The worksheet said both were underfunded in the past and that the requests are based on actual costs.
Unclaimed bodies also have increased, requiring the county to pay for more burials, it said. The budget seeks an increase from $21,000 to $25,000 to fund a projected 34 burials at $750 each.
Sheriff budget
A 17.5% increase is proposed for the sheriff’s department, which is requesting an allocation rise from $2.75 million to $3.2 million.
Revenue is projected to grow from $950,550 to $1 million, the worksheet said.
The lion’s share of the spending increase — $335,467 — would cover a range of equipment and security needs, including:
• $83,000 to replace magnetic door locking systems to properly secure four county buildings.
• $122,017 for new Tasers because the current ones have reached the manufacturer’s useful life recommendation.
• $40,450 to purchase ballistic helmets and $55,000 to buy rifle plates, which are protective shields. Both are needed to provide a higher level of protection to sheriff deputies amid the “constant rise in the amount of mass shootings,” the worksheet said.
In other categories, the department is seeking an additional $55,000 to purchase contractually-mandated ballistic vests for deputies, $60,000 more for overtime due to positions that are vacant or filled by deputies not yet certified and $9,000 for a county security camera software maintenance agreement after the current one expires in January, the worksheet said.
Under the safety supply budget line, the department is seeking an allocation increase from $11,000 to $20,000 to cover rising ammunition costs and more training for new employees, it said.
An additional $5,000 is requested as part of a changing hiring process requiring prospective deputy sheriffs to undergo pre-employment testing, it said.
Session schedule
County council is free to make changes before the Dec. 15 budget adoption deadline. Overall, the proposed budget would increase real estate taxes 6.75%, which equates to $55 more annually for the average property assessed at $132,776.
Tonight’s budget hearing and work session will be in the county courthouse on River Street in Wilkes-Barre. Instructions for remote attendance are posted under council’s online meetings link at luzernecounty.org.
The work session will cover proposed budgets for the law division, budget/finance division, judicial services and records division and intergovernmental transfers to outside entities, such as public libraries and the Luzerne County Community College. The coroner’s office and sheriff’s department fall under the judicial services and records division.
Budget worksheets for the departments presenting tonight are posted with the agenda at luzernecounty.org.