HARRISVILLE — The Alcona County Board of County Commissioners is interested in learning more about how the Michigan Institute of Forensic Science and Medicine could help manage the county’s medical examiner and autopsy services.

Commissioners directed Marcus Atkins, senior director of development with the institute, to schedule a future meeting with county board Chairman Craig Johnston, Commissioner Carolyn Brummund, county Medical Examiner Amy Marker, and other county officials so they could discuss how the institute could manage and expedite the county’s autopsy services.

Johnston said the county has “a major snafu right now.” Johnston said the county’s current medical examiner holds a separate full-time job and that their lead investigator also works as the county’s emergency medical director.

“Basically, you’re going to manage and be a person who would answer the phone and track some stuff for us and know the right (phone) numbers to call,” he told Atkins.

Brummund was particularly interested in the time it would take from when the medical examiner was called to the scene of a death to the time an autopsy report would be released.

The county’s autopsies are currently performed either with Ascention Standish Hospital in Standish or at Covenant HealthCare in Saginaw.

County Clerk Stephany Eller said sometimes the county can wait six to eight months for the autopsy report to be completed, and families call the county. Eller said they are still waiting on a getting an autopsy report from the summer of 2018.

“That’s a really long time for someone to be out,” Atkins said.

Atkins said the goal would be for someone to arrive at the death scene within 30 to 40 minutes, that the medical examiner would be notified, and an autopsy would be completed at the institute. He said it usually takes between 10 days and three weeks to get toxicology reports back and an autopsy report can be completed as quickly as three weeks to as long as several months.

Atkins has also approached commissioners in Montmorency and Presque Isle counties.

Crystal Nelson can be reached at 989-358-5687 or cnelson@thealpenanews.com.

In other business

The Alcona County Board of Commissioners on Wednesday also:

∫ eliminated a secretary position within Emergency Medical Service for financial reasons. The county agreed to pay the secretary $1,000 severance pay.

∫ agreed to pay a 2% raise and $600 stipend to two Friend of the Court employees represented by the United Steelworkers Union. County board Chairman Craig Johnston said the increase was part of a four-county negotiation, which was negotiated with the court-appointed negotiator.

∫ scheduled a 9 a.m. Dec. 27 meeting to discuss budget amendments. Commissioners also scheduled its organizational meeting for 10 a.m. Jan. 2.

∫ Commissioners formally adopted a $5.2 million budget for 2020 following a public hearing. The adopted budget is a 6% increase over the budget for the current fiscal year.