North Central Florida leaders are preparing to officially search for a District 8 medical examiner, moving away from the interim contract currently in place.
The process will start with a local search committee that includes county officials, the state attorney’s office, public defender’s office, funeral home directors and law enforcement leaders. District 8 includes Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Dixie, Gilchrist, Levy and Union counties.
After the local search committee makes a nomination, the candidate will be sent to the Medical Examiners Commission in Tallahassee and then a final decision by the governor.
Dr. Jon Thogmartin, medical examiner for District 6, which includes Pinellas and Pasco counties, contracted with Alachua County to perform medical examiner services after Dr. Tom Coyne resigned in April 2024 to take a new role in Leon County.
As part of his contract, Thogmartin is working to find candidates for the post and organize the search.
Tommy Crosby, assistant county manager for Alachua County, said he anticipates a six-month timeline to find a new medical examiner. He said Thogmartin has spent the past year stabilizing the office following a few departures before launching the search.
Alachua County, the circuit seat, pays the cost of the medical examiner’s office, and the other counties send a share of the cost of the office to Alachua County.
But the exact form the contract with the medical examiner takes remains open, and State Attorney Brian Kramer said the qualified candidates have a lot of negotiating power because of a shortage in medical examiners.
“These people are very rare, and they’re not making a lot more of them,” Kramer said. “It’s a big problem within the community.”
Kramer said Coyne was the only candidate when the 8th District looked to replace Dr. William Hamilton, who had served in the role for decades. Kramer said three main contract options exist for medical examiners: a nonprofit, a private organization and a department of the county.
He said a candidate might enter negotiations and only be interested in the private path or only interested as a department of the county.
Kramer said the private model is the cheapest because the county pays the contract and leaves all the details to the medical examiner. The county department model might be the most expensive since the county must then deal with payroll, insurance and retirement for another batch of employees.
Even as a county employee, it’s a unique situation since the county can’t hire or fire the medical examiner. The office sits at the intersection of the county, the judicial system and law enforcement.
Kramer said Thogmartin was ready for the application process to begin, and Kramer began to notify all the stakeholders who can be part of the local committee. The first meeting for the process should kick off soon, he said.