Wayne Co. coroner resigns, claims lack of support

(Western Wayne News) — Kevin Fouche returned as Wayne County coroner on Jan. 1, 2021, to serve with passion and improve the office.

Believing he lacked support from Wayne County Council, Fouche became disheartened enough that he decided not to run this year for another term. Now, he’s resigned before his term concludes, effective Aug. 9.

He addressed his resignation letter to the council and expressed frustration and disappointment with the council’s priorities and decisions, including not making the coroner and chief deputy positions full-time. He called his resignation a protest and hoped it would lead to change.

Fouche told Western Wayne News that he had written the letter previously, but he has now secured private-sector employment that would not be available had he remained coroner.

“I did this job because I felt this calling, but there comes a time when you have to pay the bills and think about the future,” Fouche said. Later he said, “I love my job, and I love serving people.”

A Republican caucus of precinct chairs elected during the May primary election will select Fouche’s successor. Gary Saunders, chair of the Wayne County Republican Party, said he had not yet scheduled the caucus, having received official notification on Aug. 7 of Fouche’s resignation. There’s a 30-day window from that date to conduct the caucus.

In May’s primary, Brent Meadows won the Republican nomination for coroner. He’s unopposed in the November election.

Last year, Fouche, who previously served two terms as coroner, requested during the budgeting process that the coroner and chief deputy be made full-time. He pointed out that cases had risen to 763 in 2022 from about 150 when he previously served and from 404 during 2021. 

About 200 of those new cases were received through a new reporting system for deaths at Reid Health, making the coroner’s office aware of all deaths and allowing it to decide early which the office should investigate. The others continued a trend of increasing deaths. Fouche said changing demographics with the unhoused, drug addictions, extended care facilities and Reid providing regional service impact the total. Residents of other counties who die at Reid are handled by Wayne County’s coroner.

Fouche noted that Hendricks, Allen, Hamilton, and Lake counties handle a similar number of cases. While he earned $25,807 in 2023, those coroners earned $65,752.50 in Hendricks, $60,483.84 in Allen, $91,533.06 in Hamilton, and $73,518 in Lake, according to the Department of Local Government Finance website. Fouche requested $60,000 for the coroner’s position and $45,000 for the chief deputy, plus $9,800 for each of the five deputies.

Council voted 6-0 to deny the request to make the positions full-time on the same day they approved three new legal assistant positions for county courts and an auditor’s office position to manage grants. The 2024 budget calls for the coroner to earn $28,412, the chief deputy $21,309, and each deputy $9,291.

Fouche, who said he works 60 to 80 hours a week, said the pay makes recruitment and retention of employees difficult. He said there were only three people in the department earlier this year, but it’s returned to full staff. Morale is low because everyone is tired, and staff deal with traumatic situations.

“You have to have a calling and a passion for it,” Fouche said. “You’re dealing with people on the worst day of their lives, and you have to get it right.”

In addition to chairing the local Republican Party, Saunders also serves on the council.

“I don’t think it is a full-time position,” he said of the coroner. “You’re not doing it all yourself.”

Saunders does not think the council has been unfair to the coroner’s office. He noted that wages have increased. The council has boosted county salaries to external midpoints provided by a consultant and with across-the-board raises.

“Basically, we only turned him down on full-time for him and the chief deputy,” Saunders said. “There’s a difference between needs and wants. With the way the tax money is, you can’t throw money out there if you don’t have it.”

Council and commissioners worked with Fouche in 2022 to renovate the coroner’s courthouse office, consolidating two locations into one. A covering outside the South Third Street door where the van unloads was planned for installation after a project to repair the courthouse exterior was completed. That project wrapped up earlier this year. Fouche said the covering is necessary for privacy and protection from weather.

Identifying Connie Lorraine Christensen last year 41 years after her death is Fouche’s top accomplishment as coroner, followed by the office renovation. The identification provided some closure for Christensen’s daughter, Misty LaBen, who didn’t know why her 20-year-old mother left her.

“That’s one of the big things I wanted to do and set out to do,” Fouche said of the cold case, “and bring integrity back to the coroner’s office with a respectable facility.”

This story originally appeared in Western Wayne News.