Schuylkill County commissioners, members of the county coroner’s office, and other officials met Wednesday to discuss increasing costs in the office.

“It was a fruitful exchange of ideas,” Schuylkill County Coroner David J. Moylan III said Friday.

County Commissioner Gary Hess agreed.

“I think we got what we needed,” Hess said Friday about rising expenses in the office.

Hess said commissioners Barron “Boots” Hetherington, George Halcovage Jr., Finance Director Paul Buber, Dr. Joseph Weber, coroner’s office Eric Mika, and deputy coroners Albert Barnes and John Mika attended the meeting at the courthouse.

Halcovage declined to comment on the meeting. Buber and Hetherington didn’t return calls for comment.

Commissioners had previously expressed frustration with the uptick in expenses. Hess had said he would not approve additional requests until a meeting was held.

Office employees previously said state police, Pottsville Bureau of Police and other police departments are requesting the autopsies, which are done at the Dauphin County Forensic Center in Harrisburg.

Hess declined to provide specific details of what was discussed except to say increasing autopsy costs were discussed. In the future, he said it is incumbent on the office to provide more specific information when costs continue to increase.

He said it is hard to predict increasing costs for such expenses as autopsies, although he said the overdose toll in the county is reflected in the autopsies performed.

“That’s the biggest thing that’s showing, the overdoses,” he said.

Moylan said commissioners asked “many good questions.”

“We all realize the price of autopsies have skyrocketed over the last nine years and we are looking for a solution to that,” Moylan said.

Moylan said another meeting is possible.