Klamath County commissioner says public safety services face cuts as state funding shrinks; proposes citizen working group

Klamath County Commissioner (name not specified) told members of the county's legislative delegation in a virtual briefing that the county has experienced recent violent incidents and is preparing for reduced public safety funding from the state.

The commissioner said the county has had "a couple homicides, 2 shootings," including "one shooting yesterday where a young man was shot in the face with a shotgun on Gary Street," and a juvenile death in a traffic-related water incident. The commissioner warned those events are arriving amid state budget reductions that will squeeze local public safety services and programs.

The county official said state cuts to community corrections will "significantly impact" probation officers, victim services and some jail funding. "We've received a brief from our community corrections director that, 5004 is gonna reduce community corrections funding from the state, which will significantly impact, obviously,…