Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
A budget quarrel between the Bucks County Commissioners and the Bucks County Coroner Meredith Buck spilled into public view Thursday.
Reporters from online, print, radio, and TV news organizations were summoned to the coroner’s office in Ivyland Borough for a press conference on an unannounced topic. The invite provided few details but stated the briefing would contain “breaking news that greatly impact the residents of Bucks County.”
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Buck, a Democrat who took office last year, was joined by Doylestown attorney Larry Otter for the press conference and quickly apologized to the media, stating circumstances had changed. The situation was largely unclear at the moment, but LevittownNow.com learned Buck filed a lawsuit Thursday morning against the commissioners before hastily withdrawing it.
The coroner stated her office will run out of money at the end of April. The lawsuit claimed the commissioners “slashed the coroner’s budget by $1,033,000 or 66.8 percent.”
“The slash and burn budget passed by the defendant commissioners prevents the independent and duly elected Bucks County coroner from proper performance of her duties,” the lawsuit stated.
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In the complaint, the coroner said the change in budget will hamper the office’s efforts to conduct death investigations, perform toxicology testing, and assist the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office. Due to COVID-19, the coroner’s office was busier than normal last year.
The lawsuit alleged “draconian and unlawful” budget cuts by all three commissioners – two Democrats and one Republican – that were done in “bad faith” to “punish” Buck.
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The goal of the quickly-withdrawn lawsuit was to compel the commissioners to provide more funding to Buck’s office.
Exhibits attached to the lawsuit include March 2020 emails between Commissioners Chairperson Diane Ellis-Marseglia and Buck.
The emails indicate Buck’s office had staffing issues and the commissioners wanted to send one of their top staffers to review the office’s operation. Ellis-Marseglia advised Buck, a nurse and attorney, that she needs to have “independent eyes” look at her office and records.
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“I understand this new to you, but this how things are done in government,” Ellis-Marseglia wrote to the coroner last March.
Buck said in an email the visit would be disruptive to her office.
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The commissioners declined to comment on the lawsuit because they had not seen a full copy and it was already withdrawn.
“The coroner’s budget has not been cut; it will be allocated in thirds for 2021. The coroner is currently under budget. The commissioners have a fiduciary responsibility to oversee the county budget, which includes the row offices. They manage that process publicly and to the letter of the law,” Bucks County Chief Financial Officer David Boscola said in a statement.
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While the elected row officers are independent departments, the commissioners oversee budgeting for those offices.
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