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Klamath County lifts hiring freeze for budgeted positions, approves two hiring exceptions
Summary
The Klamath County Board of Commissioners on June 3 voted to lift a hiring freeze for positions already budgeted for next fiscal year and approved exceptions allowing the District Attorney’s Office and the tax office to refill two soon-to-be-vacant positions.
The Klamath County Board of Commissioners on June 3 voted to lift a standing hiring freeze for positions that are budgeted in the forthcoming fiscal year and approved two separate exceptions to fill soon-to-be-vacant positions in the district attorney’s and tax offices.
A staff member speaking for the District Attorney’s Office said the county was seeking an exception to fill a Trial Legal Assistant 3 position vacating June 10, 2025. The speaker said the position is already budgeted for the upcoming fiscal year and that filling it would have no fiscal impact. A motion to approve the exception passed by voice vote; the chair recorded the motion as passed.
A second staff speaker, speaking on behalf of Tax Collector Rick Bond, asked the board to approve an exception to fill a tax office clerk position that will be vacated effective July 2, 2025. That position, the speaker said, also is budgeted for the coming fiscal year and would not create additional fiscal impact. The board approved that exception by voice vote.
Commissioners then debated the broader usefulness of the hiring freeze. One commissioner told colleagues that the freeze had produced many ad hoc exceptions and created confusion for employees, and proposed lifting the freeze for positions already budgeted in the next fiscal year. The motion to lift the hiring freeze for currently budgeted positions passed by voice vote.
Commissioners asked human resources to prepare concept papers and possible proposals for a voluntary separation or buyout program so the board can consider the measure as part of a broader budget strategy. The board discussed scheduling a follow-up conversation on budgeting and organizational restructuring after the fiscal-year budget is closed.
Discussion vs. decision: the two requests to refill the DA and tax-office positions and the motion to lift the hiring freeze were formal board actions that passed. The request to develop voluntary separation program proposals was direction to staff to return with options, not a formal adoption of such a program.
What the board recorded: the DA office said the Trial Legal Assistant 3 position will be vacated on 2025-06-10 and is budgeted; the tax office clerk position will be vacated on 2025-07-02 and is budgeted. The board directed HR to draft proposals on voluntary separation programs and to bring materials to a later budget-strategy discussion.
No statutes, ordinances, or budget-code citations were cited during these items.
