Klamath County approves hiring freeze exceptions to fill sheriff’s vacancies amid rising call volumes

The Klamath County Board of Commissioners on Feb. 25 approved exceptions to the county’s general hiring freeze to allow recruitment for multiple positions in the sheriff’s office, citing a sharp rise in calls for service and concerns about deputy burnout and officer safety.

Sheriff Shane Mitchell told the board that recorded calls for service rose from 31,080 in 2023 to 36,350 in 2024 — an increase he described as roughly 17%. He also said January 2025 calls totaled about 5,317, compared with 4,738 in January 2023 and 4,917 in January 2024. With roughly 16 patrol deputies assigned, the sheriff said those figures equated to about 332 calls per deputy during a recent six-week period, limiting deputies’ ability to perform follow-up work.

The board approved three separate personnel actions that had been presented together during the sheriff’s office portion of the agenda: an amendment to the original request to allow posting and hiring for five vacant patrol deputy positions (the request was corrected during the meeting from four vacancies to five), authorization to post and hire for a school resource officer/Kingsley Community College (KCC) sergeant position (budgeted at about $138,000 annually, with KCC paying 75%…