The Henry Commission approved creating a fulltime deputy county coroner position Tuesday for the south metro Atlanta community on Tuesday.
County Coroner Donald Cleveland told the commissioners that calls to his office — about 650 in 2021 — have been increasing as the once rural Georgia county has grown. The office has been handling the volume with a part-time deputy coroner, but was becoming overwhelmed and needed to add a fulltime deputy staffer keep up.
“It has become impossible for one person to handle the increasing case load, along with administrative duties and being called out in middle of night,” he said in a resolution to approve the job.
The deputy coroner will be paid $55,000 annually plus benefits. The resolution did not give a value of the benefits. Cleveland said he had money in his budget for the position and would not need additional funding for the job.
