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County approves overlap hire for public works; board hears plan to expand in‑house fleet maintenance
Summary
Klamath County approved hiring a heavy equipment operator in advance of a scheduled retirement to ensure winter coverage, and commissioners heard a plan to expand county fleet maintenance to service emergency and other light vehicles, which officials said could reduce external vendor delays.
The Klamath County Board of Commissioners voted Sept. 16 to allow an overlap hire for a heavy equipment operator in Public Works so the department can train a replacement before the incumbent retires.
County staff said the current employee will retire in February 2026 but will be on leave for several weeks prior to retirement. Public Works requested hiring the replacement in October so the new operator can train and provide coverage during winter months; staff estimated the fiscal impact for three months of additional salary and benefits at about $20,371.10 and said the department has the funds available. The board approved the overlap hire by voice vote with commissioners indicating “aye.”
After the vote, the meeting continued with a briefing on the county’s in‑house fleet program. Deputy Chief Hitchcock (identified in the meeting as a deputy chief for emergency services) told the board the county had approached city shops earlier but, given capacity constraints, Public Works appeared able to provide light‑vehicle fleet maintenance. Hitchcock said the county’s light fleet includes roughly 22–23 vehicles — ambulances, wildland brush rigs, staff pickups, trailers and related units — and that vendor lead times were sometimes two‑to‑three weeks for service, a delay that can be unacceptable for ambulances.
Public Works staff reported the county has performed about 160 oil changes so far across departments (about 60 outside Public Works and roughly 100 in Public Works) and estimated savings of approximately $15,000 by shifting work from higher‑paid external rates to in‑house mechanics. The fleet program has expanded to include brakes and transmission services, and staff said they have found maintenance problems such as missing oil fill caps during inspections.
Commissioners expressed interest in seeing projections for the program’s finances and were supportive of allowing Public Works to move forward. Commissioners and staff said they would provide budget projections for how adding external work (servicing other agencies’ light vehicles) would affect overhead and program performance.
No formal contract with an outside entity was approved at the meeting; the board provided direction by consensus to proceed with the proposal to provide fleet maintenance services to the emergency services department and to produce financial projections for future review.
