The Brazos County Commissioners Court, at a March 10 meeting, approved staff salaries for the county’s developing forensic services department after a discussion about cost and demand.
Commissioners voted to approve salaries so that the hiring process for two medical examiners—at the rate of $40.87 per hour—may begin soon. The measure passed with some opposition from Precinct 3 Commissioner Fred Brown.
The breakdown
Jennifer Dierksen, director of forensic services for the county, spoke at the commissioners’ meeting to explain why two investigators would be necessary. She said investigators handle much more than examining a body. They also conduct scene investigations, write reports and coordinate with law enforcement day and night.
“If I start off with one [medical examiner], they’ll be working in the daytime but then we will all be taking turns covering the night call,” Dierksen said.
The forensic office will also conduct its own investigations separate from law enforcement.
Also of note
Brazos County has previously relied on outside help for medical examiner services. Dierksen said the county sent 160 death investigations to Travis County in a year. With those numbers, she predicts up to 300 investigations in a full year with a Brazos County medical examiner.
“In the long run, when we are finally up to speed, I would like four [medical examiners],” she said.
What they said
Brown initially asked the court to table the item, citing concern over how the county can’t know the exact demand yet, particularly in terms of how much surrounding counties would request services. He said hiring two investigators could be excessive.
“I can agree that we need to have, perhaps, one investigator starting off, but two investigators starting out, I think is overkill at this point,” Brown said. “... I think we should go into it slowly and add as we need it.”
County officials and other commissioners spoke in favor of the motion to approve, saying the positions had already been approved and the March 10 vote was to approve salaries to begin the hiring process.
Precinct 4 Commissioner Wanda Watson and county Budget Analyst Nina Payne said hiring both medical examiners is a lengthy process, and one would be hired before the other. Officials noted the hiring process will begin earlier so that the facility will have at least one examiner at the time of opening.
“I do want us to be able to have that flexibility and get it up and running, pay the people, get them here, recruited, get them working,” Precinct 2 Commissioner Chuck Konderla said.
Before you go
Other items approved at the meeting included:
- Approval for the Brazos County Sheriff’s Office to apply for a federal grant to better combat human trafficking
- Early voting locations for the May 26 primary runoff election
- Utility permits for fiber optic installation along county roads by Comcast and Frontier
- Subdivision plats in Bryan and College Station
Watch the full meeting here.
