Wilson County committee approves full‑time death investigator, shifts medical‑examiner funds to WEMA

Wilson County's Health and Welfare Committee voted to create a full‑time death investigator position within WEMA and to move most of the existing medical‑examiner line item into that office.

The committee's mayor (Speaker 7) said the county historically gave the medical examiner about $100,000 to cover field pronouncements and related services and proposed transferring the line item so WEMA would hire a dedicated investigator to handle on‑scene pronouncements, paperwork and deputize on‑call staff for nights and weekends. ‘‘Give Doctor Giles a thousand a month,’’ the mayor said when describing a $12,000 retained contract for Dr. Giles to sign reports and provide oversight.

Why it matters: Commissioners said the change should make field response and paperwork more consistent, reduce delays and create a staffed county resource for death investigations. Dr. Giles will remain the county medical examiner and his office will continue to sign autopsy reports and heavy‑case reviews, the mayor said.

Committee discussion focused on operations and cost. Staff and commissioners asked whether on‑duty paramedics who might respond would receive extra compensation, whether the investigator would have a vehicle, and how night/weekend coverage would be managed; presenters said the investigator would handle paperwork and authorize deputized responders when the investigator was off duty. The county cited a line‑item balance of $96,698 with insurance and retirement deductions noted; after reserving $12,000 for a contract with Dr. Giles the remaining funds were to be moved to WEMA to cover the investigator's salary (presenters cited a competitive range in the mid‑$50,000s).

The committee moved and approved a job description and the budget amendment by voice vote; no roll‑call tally was recorded in the meeting transcript.

Votes at a glance: Motion to create the WEMA death investigator position and approve the job description — carried by voice vote. Budget amendment to transfer funds from the medical‑examiner line to WEMA, leaving $12,000 as a contracted service for Dr. Giles — carried by voice vote.

Next steps: Staff said WEMA would post the position and manage hiring; commissioners directed staff to process the budget amendment and finalize the job posting.