HUNTSVILLE, AL -- Madison County Coroner-elect Craig Whisenant campaigned saying he would get the coroner's office out of a funeral home. But less than two months before he takes office, he is still trying to figure out where he will store bodies and how he will transport them.

Whisenant hopes the County Commission can help him, but some commissioners say he needs to use his own budget - a $10,000 operating budget and $8,000 in salary.

"I'm researching the role of the coroner," Whisenant said two days after defeating Democratic incumbent Bobby Berryhill in the Nov. 2 general election. "The coroner works with the County Commission," Whisenant said, "but doesn't report to the County Commission."

Commission Chairman Mike Gillespie said the commission hasn't had a close hand in the coroner's office in years because coroners have always run the office themselves.

"Here's the person who ran for coroner who appears to have no idea what he was going to do when elected, but now he has all these plans and proposals," Gillespie said. "It seems to me he would've had a better idea how to run it."

Berryhill, who owns Berryhill Funeral Home, uses the funeral home's vans and morgue in his role as coroner. During his 20 years in the role, Berryhill said, he used all $18,000 a year from the county to operate the office and it still wasn't enough. In addition to using his own vans and staff, he often dipped into his own pocket to run the office, he said.

"Anybody that has ever served as coroner in this county has had to supplement the coroner's office," Berryhill said.

During his campaign, Whisenant said he owned a transport van and a cot in addition to supplies, and that he could buy anything else with his budget.

But Whisenant said he's been advised by other coroners not to use his own van on the job. "That's a liability that befalls me and the county," he said.

What he drives will be the County Commission's decision, Whisenant said.

But County Commissioner Dale Strong said the commission has never provided a vehicle for the coroner to use as long as he has been on the commission. He won his first term in 1996.

Strong said Whisenant's budget is the same budget the coroner's office has had for years and it won't change this year.

"The previous coroner was most successful running that office under the budget provided," Strong said. "I think (Whisenant) is going to have to evaluate what's best for the taxpayers and for that office and what's most cost-effective."

Whisenant said he hopes there's a vehicle in the county fleet he could use to transport bodies, saving the county from having to purchase a new van.

Then there's the cost of insurance. Berryhill said he paid for the insurance on his vehicles, not the county. "My personal insurance covers my coroner duties," he said.

The coroner assists in all deaths that happen outside of hospitals, often working with local law enforcement officials in death investigations and homicides. The coroner determines the cause and time of death and holds the body until it is released to a funeral home that a family chooses, or is taken to the state forensics lab for an autopsy.

A secure morgue is essential to the job. During his campaign, Whisenant said he wanted to talk with local hospitals about an arrangement to hold bodies, but he said he hadn't had any discussions with Crestwood Medical Center or Huntsville Hospital. Crestwood officials couldn't be reached for comment, and Huntsville Hospital spokesman Burr Ingram said he couldn't comment on whether an arrangement might be possible.

Berryhill said a joint morgue with the hospital isn't possible because of the liability for the hospital and the coroner.

Whisenant proposes locked and sealed coolers in a shared morgue to ensure evidence is protected. He has expressed hope that a morgue can be located in a county-owned building, such as the courthouse. He said a morgue could be placed at one of several locations, but, "It's up to the County Commission to put it in."

After he learned that two commissioners had said bodies would not be held in the courthouse, Whisenant said, "Other options are being explored at this time."

Berryhill said a refrigerated cooler would cost $8,000 to $10,000.

"Every department in Madison County has been asked to do more with less and it has worked to this point," Strong said. "We'll work with (Whisenant) any way we can, but it's my hope he'll be able to operate within his budget like every other office."

Gillespie agreed.

"In my 30 years as a county commissioner, never have we been asked for funding from the coroner," Gillespie said. "I don't know what (Whisenant) has in mind until he presents something to us."

Whisenant said if a morgue isn't in place when he takes office in January, he'll "do a rotation with local funeral homes." If a rotation system is worked out, Whisenant said, "It's up to the County Commission to decided how it's handled."

"We'll accept any recommendations the coroner submits," Strong said. "I'm excited to hear his ideas and will welcome them."

Berryhill said he's not sure how a rotation would work because someone will have to pay to transport the body to the family's funeral home of choice. In the past, Berryhill absorbed that cost.

Wherever the commission decides, Whisenant said, it would be a secure, neutral location, not a funeral home. The coroner is in the chain of legal custody when holding a body and must protect any evidence from being disturbed.

Whisenant will start his tenure as a one-man show because the county doesn't provide supplemental pay for deputy coroners. Whisenant said he would be fine handling the workload and Kerry Overton, a former deputy coroner, has volunteered to help.

Part of Berryhill's funeral home staff doubles as deputy coroners, assisting Berryhill with transports and arrangements - about 600 cases a year.

Berryhill said he keeps two cars available and four deputies on call at all times.

Besides his new job as coroner, Whisenant is also a funeral home director at Hazel Green Funeral Home.

"My responsibilities at the funeral home are flexible because I'm not the owner," Whisenant said about juggling both jobs. "My boss understands the workload."

Sam Spry owns the funeral home and is a former Madison County coroner.

Whisenant said during his campaign he would remove the coroner's office from a private business. Berryhill, coroner for 20 years, operated the office from his Berryhill Funeral Home.

"He needs to suck up his pride and run the coroner's office out of his funeral home," Berryhill said.

Although Hazel Green Funeral Home doesn't have refrigeration, Spry Funeral Home does have refrigerated coolers, Whisenant said.

There is an unused cooler on the Spry property that's not part of the funeral home building, Whisenant said. It's one of the options he plans to discuss with the County Commission.

Indigent cases are also a problem for the coroner.

When a person dies and there's no next of kin, the body falls into the custody of the coroner. The state pays only $100 for burial, which costs more than $1,000 at a minimum.

Berryhill said he averages about 12 indigent cases a year with no next of kin. He often absorbs that cost himself.

"Anything the coroner's office needed, I felt like it was my responsibility," Berryhill said.

Strong said the only time he knows of the commission giving the coroner more money was to bury an indigent.