(a) There is hereby established a final disposition policy to comply with the provisions of Ohio R.C. § 9.15 pertaining to the final disposition of indigent persons found within the Village of Lockland.
(b) The Village Administrator or his or her designee shall be responsible for the indigent final disposition program which shall be as follows:
(1) Final disposition shall be by cremation only.
(2) If the next of kin of the deceased are not available or are unknown, the Village Administrator or his or her designee shall have the authority to sign all documents necessary for the cremation of the deceased.
(3) Prior to the cremation authorization, the village shall make reasonable attempt to determine whether or not the deceased person is in fact indigent, as follows:
The term INDIGENT DECEDENT means a person who dies without leaving an ascertainable estate sufficient to pay part or all of the person's final disposition expenses and whose final disposition expenses are not payable by the state, except that decedents who earned greater than 125% of the federal poverty guidelines in the previous 12 months shall be excluded from this program. The estate of the decedent shall include but not be limited to the ready availability of real or personal property owned, employment benefits, pensions, annuities, social security, unemployment compensation, inheritances, number and age of dependents, outstanding debts,
obligations and liabilities, and any other relevant considerations concerning the financial condition of the decedent.
(4) The Village of Lockland shall pay a maximum of $800 for the cremation of the remains of the indigent person. Said services shall include necessary supplies and procedures and provide a temporary urn for the storage of the cremated remains of the deceased. The cremated remains of the deceased shall be released to the decedent's family if the remains are claimed by a family member within ten days. If the remains are unclaimed, they shall be permanently stored by the funeral home in an approved facility. The village shall insure that a death notice is published in an appropriate newspaper.
(5) The funeral home shall reduce the above cost to the village by the amount of any funds received by the funeral home from the deceased's family or any other source. If additional funds are paid to the funeral home, and the village has paid herein provided, the funeral home shall refund to the village the exact amount of additional funds paid to the funeral home within 30 days of the receipt thereof by the funeral home.
(6) In the performance of services under this policy, the funeral home shall comply with all statutes, ordinances, regulations, and rules of the federal government, the State of Ohio, the County of Hamilton and the Village of Lockland which are applicable. Village notices, approvals, authorizations, waivers, instructions, or any other matters required to be executed by the Village of Lockland shall be effective only when given in writing and signed by the Village Administrator or his authorized representative.
(7) During the performance of its duties and responsibilities of this policy, the funeral home agrees that in the hiring of employees for the performance of work under this policy, the funeral home shall not by reason of race, color, religion, sex, age, handicap, national origin or ancestry, discriminate against any citizen in the employment of a person qualified and available to perform work to which this agreement relates in violation of any federal, state, or village law or ordinance.
(Ord. 2011-31, passed 4-19-2011)