Nueces County weighs continued autopsy services for Brooks County as $25,000 in invoices remain unpaid

NUECES COUNTY, Texas — A request from the county medical examiner to extend deadlines and continue autopsy services for neighboring Brooks County exposed sharp disagreement among commissioners over unpaid invoices and fiscal risk.

Forrest Mitchell, director of operations for the Nueces County Medical Examiner's Office, told commissioners the office has performed cases under a long-standing interlocal agreement and has about $25,000 in total outstanding invoices related to autopsy services. He said that $7,002.29 of that total has exceeded the 30-day payment window: "They have run out of money according to their, auditors office," Mitchell said.

Mitchell asked the court to allow the office to continue receiving Brooks County cases while Brooks County develops a plan to pay the backlog. Commissioners expressed concern about setting a precedent of forgiving or delaying fees for other counties that use Nueces' services. One commissioner said suspending cases for a nonpaying county would protect Nueces operations and staff time; another warned that cutting a county off could cause that county to find another provider and the revenue to shift away from Nueces.

Commissioners did not approve a blanket waiver. Instead they directed medical examiner staff to return with a formal cost-versus-revenue analysis that shows how much out-of-county work contributes to county revenue versus the county's expense to perform and staff those services. Commissioners also asked staff to report a proposed, consistent policy for handling late out-of-county payments so exceptions are not made on a case-by-case basis.

Mitchell said Brooks County had indicated it expected to move monies around and could pay some invoices by mid-month or by the end of the month; commissioners said they would consider that update but would not change county policy without an across-the-board standard. "I just think we need to come up with some plan that doesn't just deal with these two (invoices) but that deals with some sort of thing going forward," one commissioner said.

What happens next: county staff will prepare the requested analysis and bring options back at a future court meeting. Until then, the court maintained its existing practice and did not adopt a waiver or an immediate suspension of services. The medical examiner said any suspension could affect revenue the county receives for out-of-county work and also affect staffing and scheduling at the office.

Reported segments: Discussion began with the medical examiner at the court's regular agenda item on autopsy services (see Nueces County Commissioners Court, July 12, 2023).