Planners outline fee increases, software purchase and TUP changes to cover budget shortfall

Klamath County planning staff told the Planning Commission the department is operating with about $360,000–$380,000 in annual expenses, a reserve of roughly $233,000 and a current shortfall of about $53,000 per year. To address the gap, staff outlined options including modest application fee increases, changes to the Community Development (CDD) fee, and purchasing online software to reduce staff time answering routine public inquiries.

Planning staff said the department currently operates with roughly 2.5 full‑time equivalent staff dedicated to planning duties, processes roughly 700–720 applications per year (up from about 660 last year), and handles about 500 local land use certificates (LUCs) annually and roughly 60 land partitions per year. The department receives no general‑fund support and is funded almost entirely from application fees and a 0.15% CDD fee on project value; staff said about two‑thirds of revenues come from application fees and roughly $80,000 annually from the CDD fee.

To close an estimated $53,000 shortfall,…