Medical examiner asks county for $1 million imaging upgrade, says it will speed investigations and reduce staff risk

Dr. Sneed, chief medical examiner for District 23, told the Board of County Commissioners that her office — which serves St. Johns, Flagler and Putnam counties — received 1,076 case reports last year and conducted 632 full investigations, assuming medical‑examiner jurisdiction in 495 of those cases. She said the district’s aging x‑ray equipment slows work and adds heavy lifting for technicians and forensic staff.

"Our current system forces technicians to lift and reposition heavy digital plates for each image; a single complex homicide case required more than 57 images and repeated repositioning," Dr. Sneed said. She described a proposed high‑speed, low‑dose full‑body system that can produce a complete scan in about 13 seconds and streamline lateral images in roughly 30 more seconds.

The ME asked the county to allocate about $1,000,000 in CIP funds to buy the equipment, PACS archiving, monitors for four workstations, transfer accessories and a multiyear service contract. She said the upgrade would improve identification of embedded hardware (hip replacements, bypass grafts), reduce radiation exposure and cut the physical strain on forensic technicians — a factor she tied to retention and recruitment difficulties.

Dr. Sneed also described the office’s broader FY27 request: an operating budget increase tied to capital needs and a 6,500,000 building expansion to create a dedicated radiograph suite and additional workspace. She said the district’s operating budget for the county portion is roughly $3.27 million and the proposed total operating budget is about $4.33 million; the incremental CIP request for the x‑ray equipment would be reimbursed in part by the two partner counties based on their share of cases.

To modestly boost revenue, Dr. Sneed proposed raising the cremation‑review fee by $10. She said the office processed 3,786 cremation reviews last year and netted about $158,000 in revenue after exemptions for indigent decedents.

Commissioners and staff asked clerical and accounting questions about interlocal reimbursement formulas (the agreement updates annually based on prior activity). County staff noted the board has budgeted impact‑fee and CIP resources already for the ME building expansion and said operational reimbursement from partner counties will be pursued.

The county did not take a formal vote during the workshop; the ME’s request will be folded into ongoing budget modeling for July and the public hearings leading to September adoption.