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Klamath County commissioners direct departments to prepare flat and 30%‑reduction budget scenarios
Summary
County finance staff will present a flat budget and a 30% reduction scenario for the general fund and a 15% reduction for internal services, along with a white paper listing cuts required to meet the reduced budget; commissioners emphasized transparency about reserves and proposed carrying forward departmental savings.
Klamath County commissioners on Feb. 12 gave staff direction to prepare two budget scenarios for upcoming workshops: a flat (status-quo) general fund budget and a separate scenario representing a 30% reduction in general fund spending. Internal services units were asked to prepare a 15% reduction scenario. Finance staff will also prepare a white paper that enumerates the specific cuts and service impacts necessary to achieve the 30% reduction.
Vicky, representing county finance, said the recommendation reflects the county's difficult fiscal position and that preparing both scenarios will give the board and the budget committee clear choices. Vicky and other commissioners discussed that a 30% reduction would likely require cuts to personnel and that staff should show which positions and services would be reduced or eliminated under that scenario.
Commissioners emphasized transparency: finance staff should show beginning fund balances, identify reserves and pots of money (for example LATCF or federal road reserves), and make clear when one-time reserves are being used to maintain services. One commissioner proposed allowing departments to retain unspent funds within their departmental budgets so those dollars could be used in the next fiscal year, a change from past practice where general fund departments did not carry funds forward.
Board members also discussed process and workload. Finance said the county's budgeting software can store multiple scenarios (flat, 30% reduction) to reduce manual work; staff asked for additional time after budget committee hearings to make revisions if needed. Commissioners noted the heavy lift involved but said it is important to present realistic options to the budget committee rather than unbalanced proposals.
No formal vote was required for the guidance; the board signaled consensus on the direction and asked staff to plan workshops accordingly.
