Klamath County commissioners discuss hiring bonuses to fill county engineer vacancies; staff to consult HR and return with options

Klamath County commissioners on Jan. 21 discussed offering hiring incentives to recruit and retain county engineers, directing staff to return with additional research and HR guidance.

County staff reported multiple unfilled engineer positions: one posted since 2021, another vacant for two years, and a broader experience gap in the department. A department representative said the county faces difficulty recruiting mid- to upper-level engineers and proposed exploring hiring bonuses as one option. “We were just thinking outside the box and thought that a hiring bonus would be a good way to start,” the presenter said.

Commissioners and staff noted trade-offs. One commissioner said engineers are licensed professionals who can often obtain similar pay and benefits in the private sector and suggested pay competitiveness may matter more than signing bonuses. Another commissioner said the concept is acceptable in narrow scope for technical positions but asked staff to consult with human resources about broader effects on other departments and retention fairness.

Staff raised practical concerns about fairness and retroactivity: if a retention bonus is offered to new hires, employees hired recently might view that as inequitable. Commissioners suggested alternatives to signing bonuses, including using recruitment firms, adjusting pay scales, or targeted assignments and succession planning to attract candidates and maintain institutional knowledge. A county official said a hiring bonus could be paired with retention conditions and that the county has some reserve funds available to pursue recruitment strategies.

No formal policy was adopted at the meeting. Commissioners asked staff to return in a week or two with additional research, HR input and proposed cost estimates so the board could consider a more concrete proposal.