Pa. coroner needs $200K to get through the year

The coroner in an eastern Pennsylvania county says his office needs another $200,000 to get it through the end of the year.

Lehigh County Coroner Scott Grim said his office has conducted 4,101 post-mortem investigations this year as of Sept. 30 and is expected to surpass last year’s total of 5,331.

He says the number of investigations has risen 26 percent since 2009 but the office’s $1.7 million budget has remained steady.

Grim said he had to pay autopsy bills from last year with money from this year’s budget.

The (Easton) Express-Times said county commissioners will be asked to approve the cash infusion on Oct. 23, when they vote on the proposed $362 million county budget.

Commissioner Percy Dougherty said Grim “can’t help how many customers he has.”