Klamath County commissioners approve PTO donation exception and three public‑health hires

Klamath County commissioners on Aug. 13 approved three personnel actions: an exception to the county paid time off (PTO) donation policy to help an employee on pregnancy‑related bed rest, authorization to post and hire a program coordinator for a federally funded targeted airshed grant, and authorization to post and hire an epidemiologist with a requested exception to allow the position to be fully remote.

The PTO exception was presented on behalf of Heidi Stathrop, director of the development department, who told the board that current county leave guidelines bar sick- and vacation‑leave donations for pregnancy, birth or adoption but that a county employee currently on bed rest because of pregnancy complications needs additional paid leave beyond what the county’s family bonding/pregnancy leave (PLO) provides. Commissioners moved and seconded an exception to permit voluntary PTO donations within policy limits; the chair said “aye” and the motion passed.

The board next approved a request, made on behalf of Jennifer Little, Klamath County public health director, to post and hire a program coordinator to implement the county’s targeted airshed grant. The staff memo said the grant was approved by the board in July 2024 and extended in February 2025; the position was written into the approved grant budget and would be classified LH‑21 with an annual fully loaded cost of $87,739.98, paid from the current TIG grant budget. The board moved, seconded and voted to post the position; a staff representative noted the vacancy would be advertised with clear language that the role is federally funded and duration limited.

Finally, on behalf of Little, staff requested authority to post and hire a public‑health epidemiologist. County staff told the board Klamath County has contracted with Crook County Public Health for 0.2 FTE epidemiology services since 2022 and now seeks greater capacity. The proposed hire would be posted at LH‑22, step 3, with a fully loaded annual cost of $92,942.18. The memo said the county is exploring cost‑sharing with Wheeler and Polk counties (each potentially paying 0.2 FTE) but can fund a full 1.0 FTE from Public Health Modernization (subdepartment 4039) if partners do not participate. Because epidemiology candidates are “highly specialized” and often remote, staff requested an exception to county policy to allow the position to be fully remote. The board moved, seconded and voted to approve posting and hiring the epidemiologist and, if necessary, to allow remote work for the position.

The three votes were taken during the work session; commissioners present earlier in the meeting identified themselves as Commissioners Nichols and Minty. No formal roll‑call vote tally by name was recorded in the transcript beyond the motions being seconded and the chair announcing each motion “passes.”