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Klamath County commissioners eliminate captain post, authorize creation of undersheriff and hiring exception
Summary
The Board of Commissioners voted to eliminate a captain position in the sheriff’s office, allow the sheriff to create an undersheriff position and approve an exception to the county hiring freeze after staff identified partial offsetting funds.
Klamath County commissioners voted unanimously to eliminate a captain position in the sheriff’s office and authorize the sheriff to create and fill an undersheriff position, approving an exception to the county’s hiring freeze.
The action, taken during the board’s first administrative meeting of 2025, follows weeks of discussion about restructuring the sheriff’s office. Commissioners said county staff and the sheriff identified budget offsets that would cover part of the new position’s cost. "That position fully loaded is probably somewhere around the $200,000 mark," a county staff member said in the meeting, and staff reported they had identified about $100,000 in materials-and-services savings to help offset roughly half of the estimated cost.
Why it matters: The change reorganizes the sheriff’s administrative ranks and creates an ongoing personnel and budgetary responsibility for the county. Commissioners said the board must formally eliminate the existing captain position before the undersheriff role can be created and filled.
Board discussion and process: Commissioners debated procedure for creating the position and for preparing a job description. An HR staff member said the county had already reached out to other counties to obtain model job descriptions to adapt for the undersheriff role. Commissioners agreed the sheriff could appoint once the new classification and job description were finalized.
Formal action: The board moved, seconded and voted in favor; the chair recorded an "aye" and the motion passed.
What wasn’t decided: The precise start date for the new hire and the final, adopted classification and pay range were not specified at the meeting. Commissioners said they expect further paperwork to establish the position before the sheriff makes an appointment.
Ending: County staff will finalize the job description and classification, the county will remove the captain position from the organizational chart, and the sheriff may proceed with appointment once administrative steps are complete.
