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Council Member Lynn Schulman discusses OCME budget and staffing concerns
3:34:03
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Council Member Lynn Schulman provides an overview of the Office of Chief Medical Examiner's (OCME) budget for fiscal year 2026, highlighting concerns about federal funding, staffing issues for forensic pathologists, and the impact on autopsy services. She also mentions a recent contract agreement to address wage increases for medical examiners.
- OCME's FY2026 budget is $119.6 million, an increase of $15.2 million from FY2025
- Concerns raised about the lack of federal grants in the FY2026 preliminary plan
- Staffing shortages have led to fewer autopsies being conducted, particularly for suspected drug overdose cases
Lynn Schulman
3:34:03
Good afternoon, everyone.
3:34:04
Now I would like to welcome the office of the chief medical examiner that investigates mortalities and conducts forensic research for the city as well as well as chief medical examiner Jason Graham.
3:34:16
OCME's fiscal twenty twenty six budget is a hundred and $19,600,000, which includes $91,700,000 for personal services and about $28,000,000 for other than personal services.
3:34:29
OCME's budget has increased by $15,200,000 compared to last year's fiscal twenty twenty five adopted budget.
3:34:37
OCME has had federal grants in the past, but none in the fiscal twenty twenty six preliminary plan.
3:34:42
To echo our concerns with DOHMH's public health budget, we want to ensure that OCME has a contingency plan in in case the loss in federal grants is permanent.
3:34:52
In addition, we will discuss OCME staffing for forensic pathologists.
3:34:56
There's a notable vacancy rate in this position, which is concerning because they provide autopsies for the city and in the fiscal twenty twenty five PMMR.
3:35:05
It was reported that 600 fewer autopsies were prepared in the first four months of fiscal twenty twenty five than they were at the same time in fiscal twenty twenty four.
3:35:14
In addition, OCME has during the past year reportedly paused autopsies conducted on decedents that were suspected of passing away from a drug overdose due to these staffing concerns.
3:35:26
And we wanna get their response to these allegations and their plan to resolve any issues with autopsies in this category.
3:35:33
Salaries for medical examiners within OCME have not kept pace with similar positions in other US municipalities contributing to the vacancy rate and morale levels within the office.
3:35:45
This past December, the administration reached a five year contract agreement with doctor's counsel, SEIU, to institute long overdue wage increases for the city's medical examiners.
3:35:55
With this agreement, my hope is that OCME will be able to recruit, train, and retain medical examiners for years to come.
3:36:00
OCME has historically done excellent work for the city.
3:36:03
And as chair of the health committee, I wanna ensure that OCME has the resources it needs to operate at the highest level.
3:36:08
Once again, I would like to thank the committee staff and my own staff for their work on this hearing.
3:36:12
I will now turn it over to doctor Graham for his opening remarks.