Klamath County officials outline plan for East County police district funded by per-lot tax

Klamath County officials on Monday described a proposal to form a police service district for East County that would raise local money for dedicated deputies and a substation in Bonanza, with the plan to appear on the ballot in early 2026 if approved by the Board of County Commissioners.

At a town-hall meeting in Bonanza, a county commissioner summarized the financing approach and how it would affect landowners, saying, “This is your district,” and later noting the levy structure change: “it ended up being 90 in order to make those changes so that you can reduce the cost of people that live here and your producers that own multiple tax lehi.” The commissioner said the levy was presented originally as $72 per tax lot, then adjusted to about $90 per tax lot per year to allow administrative consolidations for landowners with multiple parcels.

Why it matters: Residents and farmers in the rural district have complained of high rates of trespass and theft and say they lack sustained patrol presence. County leaders said the tax would fund deputies dedicated to the unincorporated East County area, a substation and resident-deputy housing, and would not be spent outside the district.

County and sheriff’s office figures and staffing Sheriff Mitchell said the county has faced heavy call volumes and staffing shortages: “Just from January 1 to then ... there’s been a total of 2,787 calls for service within the county,” and the county covers “6,200 square miles with 15 patrol deputies. 3 of those are sergeants.” He told the group the jail has capacity in three pods but current limits are workforce-related and that recruiting and retention are major constraints.

How the levy would work County staff described the levy as a flat-per-tax-lot charge rather than a value-based property rate to ensure absentee landowners share cost. Officials said two‑thirds of the roughly 17,800 tax lots in the proposed district are owned by nonresidents, which the county cited as part of the rationale for a per-lot approach.

To ease the burden on residents or farmers who own multiple small parcels, the county said it would offer two administrative pathways: an expedited lot-consolidation process coordinated by the planning and assessor’s offices and an administrative designation that would let owners designate which lots within a contiguous map would be taxed, potentially lowering individual owners’ bills by as much as about 75 percent, county staff said. The commissioner told attendees an assessor-created form could reduce owners’ costs associated with consolidation by up to 75 percent and that the private survey work to change lot descriptions would remain the owner’s responsibility.

Governance, ballot timing and budget oversight Officials said the district would have a budget committee consisting of the three county commissioners and three citizen members from the district. “The 3 commissioners ... the other 3 are citizen members,” a county official said, describing the committee makeup and saying the district’s civilian members would come from East County.

The county’s timeline is compressed: county staff said the Board of County Commissioners must approve placing the district on the ballot prior to Feb. 28. The commissioner described two routes to the ballot: a petition by voters or a majority vote of the board, and said the commissioners voted unanimously the previous Tuesday to move forward with the process.

Use of funds and limits County leaders emphasized that dollars raised by the district would be dedicated to the district and could not be spent elsewhere. The commissioner said administrative services (human resources, finance) would remain county functions and that dollars collected in the district would under law be restricted to district uses. He also noted that the county receives about $1.73 per $1,000 of assessed value in general property tax and that five cents of that went to veterans services.

Public comments and community concerns Residents described recurring thefts and property crime. “Last summer, we couldn’t keep anything. We had an excavator stolen, 2 pickups stolen, fuel stolen,” said John Mills, who identified himself as an employee of Sierra Cascade Nursery in the Illinois Valley. Speakers asked how many deputies the new district would provide, whether the district would ensure 24-hour patrols, and whether incorporated cities such as Merrill and Lynne would be included; county staff said incorporated cities are currently excluded but that councils could ask to be included.

Budget pressures and external funding risks The county commissioner warned of fiscal stress from declines in other revenue streams. He said federal programs and state valuation changes have reduced county revenue and cited a legislative update that left Secure Rural Schools funding with “no path to being renewed again this year,” which the commissioner said would translate to an approximate $6 million loss to the county and roughly $4.2 million in school-related funding. The commissioner also referenced Department of Revenue adjustments to local pipeline valuations as examples of factors that reduce county tax collections.

Next steps and town-hall follow-up County staff said they will finish the legal description of the district, seek town-council input from incorporated cities, route the ballot title through legal counsel and the district attorney’s office, and aim to finalize the item in the clerk’s office before Feb. 28. Officials also offered to hold additional town halls and to post the meeting video on the county website for residents who could not attend.

Ending County leaders framed the measure as a local choice for East County residents. The commissioner summarized: if voters approve the district, officials will proceed to staff a substation, recruit deputies and seek to provide dedicated patrols for the area; if voters reject it, the county will pursue other requests from constituents.