County votes to fund indigent burial

Alexis Barker
NLJ News Editor
 
After a lengthy discussion on
May 4 regarding the burial of an indigent man in Weston County, the commissioners allotted up to $4,000 to help pay Meridian Mortuary for the burial costs.  
According to U.S. Funerals Online, an indigent person is one who is considered “poor, needy or poverty-stricken.” 
Tom Walker, owner of the mortuary, asked the commissioners about a policy passed in 2017 that addresses burials of indigent people in Weston County. The resolution states that the county will provide up to $1,800 for cremation of such persons, although Chairman Marty Ertman said that the resolution was passed when Worden Funeral Home was the provider in Weston County. She said that the commissioners would need to draw up another agreement after July 1, when a new state law regarding indigent burials goes into effect.  
“This is an agreement with Worden’s. There is a new state law out there. I question, did you go to the Department of Family Services for some of this?” Ertman asked. 
The state law Ertman cited is the recent passage of House Bill 47, giving the Wyoming Department of Family Services clearance to compensate qualifying families for $1,000-$1,500 from its budget for indigent burials. Previously, budget cuts in 2016 had limited the amount to $500.
Meanwhile, Walker said, he has a body in his cooler that sometimes makes it difficult to take care of the mortuary’s everyday obligations. 
“We have had this fella now that has been in the cooler for over 30 days,” Walker said. “We have a verbal agreement with Cindy Crabtree (the county coroner) to allow the use of our facilities for autopsy and cooler space.” 
To further complicate the situation, Walker said, the deceased’s mother is in an out-of-state Alzheimer’s care facility and can’t be relied upon to choose between cremation and burial. 
“Without competent next of kin, state law says we cannot cremate. The alternative is burial,” Walker said. 
He said that $1,800 would not cover the cost of burial in Greenwood Cemetery. 
 Deputy County Attorney Michael Stulken, however, said that the policy was very clear in that it provided no more than $1,800 for cremation or burial. 
“We are trying to get this thing taken care of and are hoping to get something worked out. It is a rarity in this county, but obviously comes up,” Walker said. 
The city is willing to help with some of the cost of burial, he said. “We have talked to the city, and they are willing to donate the plot in the indigent burial space and donate both the opening and closing (costs),” Walker said. “It does require a vault and $1,800 doesn’t cover the vault and casket (costs).” 
“I’m okay with negotiating, but I’m not sure it (the resolution) applies though. We should have had the conversation before,” Ertman said. 
Commissioner Tony Barton suggested that the county honor the current resolution, out of respect for the deceased. 
Both Commissioners Don Taylor and Nathan Todd agreed, although they had concerns. 
“I think we need to move forward, but there is nothing in front of me saying that she (the deceased’s mother) is incapable of knowing what is going on,” Todd said. 
“I don’t think we would necessarily hold liability,” Ertman said regarding cremation. 
In the end, the board voted to compensate Meridian for up to $4,000 for burial of the deceased. Ertman advised Walker to negotiate a new resolution after July 1, when the new law goes into effect. 
According to Crabtree, Meridian should have performed the burial and submitted a voucher to the Weston County. 
“We did the policy in 2017 with Jill Sellers (former county clerk) and Bill Lambert (former chairman of the County Commission), so we didn’t have this problem,” Crabtree said in a phone interview. “They didn’t want to go with what they had. They were saying he needed a new one. We signed a policy, so we didn’t have this issue. The only thing that needed negotiated was storage.”  
The Weston County Unclaimed & Indigent Burial and Cremation Policy allows any responsible party or funeral home to request up to $1,800 from the county for an indigent burial. 
“The total cost to the county of such burial or cremation shall not exceed $1,800,” the policy says. 
The policy also says that if no property is found with the body, or if the deceased’s estate or resources exist, then the responsible party or funeral home can “file an application for payment by the county, by submitting an itemized invoice or accounting and a sworn affidavit stating that diligent inquiry was made regarding potential property, assets or funding.” 
Both Lambert and Sellers signed the policy on July 18, 2017. 
Storage fees on the other hand, were negotiated with Worden Funeral Home directors in a resolution in 2017. This was passed, approved and adopted on July 18, 2017. That resolution provided for Worden’s to be paid $85 a day for storage of a body.  It was not clear whether Walker had billed the county or been reimbursed for storage costs.
Crabtree noted that the relationship between the county and the local funeral home is crucial for the coroner because Weston County does not have a morgue. 
“It makes my job more difficult, especially if I don’t know where I’m going to go. Right now, they are letting me use the space. If they stop, then we will have to figure it out,” Crabtree said.