Either raise sales taxes or find other new revenue in Hamilton County, or Coroner Dr. O'dell Owens says he might have to close his forensic lab and watch criminal investigations slow to a crawl.
In an emotional news conference on Friday, Dr. Owens said his office cannot handle any more budget cuts, without quickly affecting the quality of his office's work and causing severe delays in identifying suspects and providing scientific evidence for prosecutors.
Owens said the coroner's office has already had to cut at least $288,000 so far this year as Hamilton County sees falling tax revenues. Projections show the coroner could lose upwards of $700,000 from its budget next year.
Dr. Owens has already closed most of his offices one day a month. Starting next week, the closings and worker furloughs will increase to two days a month through the end of the year, including the forensics lab.
The coroner said any more cuts will sacrifice much of the money that his office is able to make through grants and performing autopsies for other counties.
On the ongoing investigation into the disappearance of 28-year-old Kristan Strutz of Delhi Township, Dr. Owens says that case may be slowed down next week. The coroner's office will be closed Monday and Tuesday for furloughs which could delay testing of DNA in the case.
Owens also disclosed that Strutz is apparently related to Hamilton County Commissioner Todd Portune. He says Portune has been told that Strutz is a cousin. The coroner said Portune has not exerting any pressure to give the case a higher priority.
The coroner said an important point he wanted to make was the budget cuts on his office are affecting everyone, no matter who they are or their station in life or in government.
Owen said the compounding effect of the furloughs and closings is that families will have to wait longer to pick up bodies and get death certificates that they need for insurance. Supervisors will be available 24/7 to pick up bodies and place them in the morgue. On furlough days, no scientific tests or work will be completed on the bodies until the next open business day.
The coroner said that will force authorities to wait for information they need to process crime scenes and identify possible suspects. Dr. Owens said the furloughs could even cost some prosecutions by the county if his staff is not available to be witnesses on specific court dates.
The commissioners and the public will have to make a choice of whether they are willing to pay to have a top flight coroner's office and forensics lab, according to Owens..
He said the only alternative to a forensic lab in Hamilton County is to use the state forensic lab in Columbus. Although that service is free, it is also overwhelmed with requests from across Ohio for help. As an example, Owens said he sent bone samples to be analyzed by the state lab in April of 2008, and he's still waiting for test results almost 20 months later.
To date, all three Hamilton County Commissioners have said they don't want to raise any taxes, including the sales tax. They hope to close the growing budget deficit through cutting expenses.
