The Mohave County Board voted Nov. 17 to move forward with a multi-year plan to bring medical-examiner services in-house, authorizing staff to design and remodel a county facility and begin recruitment and budgeting to deliver fully operational services by July 1, 2027.

Supervisor Lettman, who sponsored the measure, said the county needs an in-house capability after years of contracting out services. County staff presented a plan that would use $4,000,000 budgeted in FY26 for design and remodel of a county-owned building identified as suitable for a morgue, and estimated annual operating costs of roughly $1.5–$1.7 million once the service is staffed and equipped. The county would recruit a forensic pathologist (estimated market cost around $300,000/year) and add investigators, technicians and administrative staff.

The board heard several public speakers who raised concerns about specific contract procurement practices and previous provider staff history. Diana Francis told the board she believed the previous medical-examiner procurement involved misrepresentations and urged an independent investigation; other commenters asked the county to inventory any county-owned equipment already in use by the incumbent and to vet any candidate employees carefully.

County manager and staff said they have a complete inventory of county‑owned equipment, will assess market values for any preowned items offered by a contractor, and will follow standard county hiring and background‑check processes when recruiting new employees. The manager said the transition will include public updates and board approvals at key contract and procurement milestones. "We have a process in place today ... When we hire county employees, we vet them. We do background checks," staff said.

Procurement questions and a separate agenda item asking procurement to bring back strengthened selection‑committee rules were addressed later in the meeting. The board also directed staff to include funding for equipment and personnel in upcoming budgets and authorized phased implementation steps that will require subsequent board approvals.

What happens next: staff will retain design consultants, bring cost proposals and construction contracts back to the board for approval, draft job descriptions and begin recruitment, and return periodic progress reports to the board as the project moves through design, construction and hiring.