Albany County officials are planning to merge their medical examiners office with a neighboring county's, a county official told local lawmakers last week.
Under the proposed plan, Albany County would use the medical examiner of a nearby county and then supplement that medical examiner's office with additional staff.
Cameron Sagan, a policy staffer for Albany County Executive Dan McCoy, told county legislators Tuesday the plan would save money, and that the two counties' respective Departments of Health had already met for "very positive conversations."
"We already have a working relationship. We're familiar with our staffing models. So the plan is outlined and fleshed out," Sagan said. "[We're] just putting the final touches on it before it's submitted to the legislature."
Sagan did not say which county was in talks with Albany County, describing it only as a "neighboring county."
Schenectady and Rensselaer Counties both have medical examiners. The other four counties that border Albany County have coroners, not medical examiners.
McCoy's office had planned for a $935,000 budget increase to implement a Medical Examiner's Office. Sagan said the agreement with that "neighboring county" would lower the budget increase to $600,000.
In order for the deal to go through, Albany County voters will need to approve a ballot measure to replace the county's four part-time elected coroners with a medical examiners office.
If that proposition passes, Sagan says the Albany County Legislature could be reviewing a proposal by November, and the merger could happen by December or January.
McCoy and other proponents of replacing the Coroner's Office have argued a Medical Examiner's Office would be staffed by more experienced professionals who can get to scenes more quickly and keep better track of deaths during crises like the COVID-19 pandemic or the opioid overdose epidemic.
