County Coroner Prepares for 2020 Fiscal Year

ZANESVILLE, Ohio – The Muskingum County Board of Commissioners met
with the County Coroner this afternoon to discuss the upcoming budget
for the 2020 fiscal years. While this past fiscal year posed some
challenges for the Coroner’s Office, officials say circumstances
were not unusual or out of the ordinary for a coroner’s department.
Dr. Charles Feicht, County Coroner, says the past year can be
considered normal.

“We review our
budget on a pretty much annual basis with the commissioners. It’s
not unusual for us to have an overage—it depends on so many
factors. So this year is no different than any other; but it wasn’t
that great. We get great support from the commissioners—we try to
be as transparent in all that is going on in our office as we can.”

Looking forward to
the 2020 fiscal year, the Coroner’s Office anticipates a stable
situation as it strives to spend tax dollars wisely and serve the
community.

“I think a pretty
stable situation. We make adjustments based on personnel; based on
volume of say overdose or autopsies, things like that.”

The number one cause
of death in Muskingum County for 2019 was natural causes. Overdose
deaths were down from 2018; while traffic related deaths remained the
same.