County officials began policy discussions Monday on how best to deal with the final committals of the poorest of the poor who pass away within our midst.
DeWitt County Judge Daryl Fowler met with the newspaper on Thursday to discuss the issue.
“By law, the county is expected to see to the final disposition of anyone who dies within our boundaries,” he said. “Such things typically fall to the deceased person’s family members or friends, but when those cannot be determined or simply do not exist, those expenses ultimately fall on county taxpayers.”
They call them “pauper’s burials,” and they usually involve the absolute poorest of the poor.
They often involve people like vagrants, who die of natural causes out under some bridge or while simply passing through the area, but they can also involve any number of others as well, such as infirmed elderly patients in convalescent centers, incarcerated prisoners and even passing motorists, whose life unexpectedly ends in a crash or by some sudden medical ailment.
“We typically seek out family members or known associates when cases like these happen,” the judge said. “But even when we find them, sometimes, they may well be estranged from their families or simply unable to afford such an expense themselves.”
So, the county picks up the tab.
Historically, the county’s policy has been to provide a “brief yet dignified” burial for the deceased, as Judge Fowler put it, in which basic embalming services are provided, the body is placed in the most basic of caskets and is then laid to rest in the county cemetery in what’s known as a “pauper’s grave,” with little more than a wire placard marking the spot.
Even that much, however, can prove quite costly to the taxpayer, as much as $16,000 per person, depending on what other expenses may also be incurred, such as autopsies, grave preparation or body transportation costs from wherever that person may be found.
Even something as simple as finding pallbearers to move the body from one point to another often falls to county employees, each one getting paid by the hour to perform said service and having to step away from his or her respective duties elsewhere.
Changes to state law regarding pauper burials now afford counties a few other options since the county last updated its own policy nearly two decades ago, such as cremation of the deceased (often, a less expensive alternative to burial) and donating the body to science (which can prove difficult, morbidly enough, because there are so many other bodies to contend with out there these days).
No decisions were reached on the subject Monday, as county officials continued to study the matter further.
In other business:
• County officials were recognized for various educational programs completed, including county tax assessor-collector Ashley Mraz’s completion of some 45 hours of continuing education in her field, human resource director Ashley Hunt recently obtaining certification as a senior certified professional with the Public Sector Human Resource Association, as well as completing another training program with the Texas Department of Transportation, and Judge Fowler’s completion of needed financial workshops ahead of the coming budget season, as per the Public Funds Investment Act
• The county approved the sales and/ or trade-ins of several pieces of used equipment.
• The county approved a couple of personnel changes, including authorizing the county treasurer to begin the process of seeking a county investment consultant, and allowing Precinct 1 to shift dollars within its own budget to exchange a part-time equipment operator position for a parttime secretary’s post.
