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Will County coroner to cut full-time employees and hire part-timers with contractsBy Tamara SharmanEarly 1994 will bring a major change to the Will County coroner's office that will save taxpayers’ money while supplying the same level of professional service the department currently provides, according to Coroner Patrick O’Neil.Recently the freshman coroner announced that he would make good on a campaign pledge and cut costs in his department by eliminating three full-time deputy coroners and replacing them with seven part-time employees who will operate on a contractual basis. He estimates the move will save $52,000 yearly.“It is my constitutional right to see that my office runs smoothly, efficiently and at the least expense to taxpayers,” O’Neil said.The part-time personnel will work oneday per week for which they will receive$75, plus an additional $50 if they must travel to a death scene, according toO’Neil.The part-time staff will be required to take classes on death scene investigations, toxicology and other topics, he said, and will have use of a county vehicle equipped with a cellular phone and radio communications while they are on duty.To fill the part-time positions O’Neil will look for individuals with funeral home experience, paramedics or possibly retired police officers, he said.O’Neil’s cost-saving plan has come under fire by some county firefighters who believe it will hamper professionalism and increase response time in an office they say currently runs well.The Democratic coroner was particularly irked by some criticism that suggested his proposal will return the coroner’s office to the way it was administered under three-term former Coroner Robert Tezak.O’Neil countered that his proposal willcorrect abuses he said were instituted during the Tezak administration.“My proposal does away with Robert Tezak’s patronage plan,” O’Neil said.O’Neil is adamant that the move to part-time personnel paid on a contractual basis will not hamper services. He claims a similar plan was used with success in Will County during the administration of four-term former Coroner Willard Blood.O’Neil said a system similar to the one he is proposing to cut costs has been used for years in the eastern fringe of Will County where a per diem deputy coroner is used to cut response times to communities such as Crete, University Park, Ste-ger, Monee, Peotone and Beecher, areas far removed from the coroner’s office in downtown Joliet.O’Neil estimated he has personally performed more death investigations during his first 10 months in office than other coroners did in the preceding 16 years.He said he cannot condone the salaries paid to the three full-time deputies, which range from $23,000 to $44,000 yearly, based on the amount of work they do or the time they are required to be on call. “You certainly can’t justify the current pay scale on those circumstances.”After taking office in December 1992, O’Neil said, he eliminated the gas charge cards used by coroner’s staff and switched to a system where they are reimbursed for mileage according to the county rate. This saves about $1,200 per year, he said.Mean Business!The Star’s business staff keepspace with what's happening in the south suburban business community.
Newspaper Details
Park Forest Star
Park Forest, Illinois, US
Sun, Nov 14, 1993
Page 4
Full Page
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AZ, USA 28 Jan 2020
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