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Klamath County staff recommend 5% raise for county surveyor; COLA for elected officials paused pending bargaining talks
Summary
At a county budget hearing, HR presented a compensation board recommendation to raise the surveyor's pay 5% to resolve pay compression and advised that any COLA for elected officials be set equal to collective‑bargaining outcomes (except the sheriff). The committee asked questions but did not make a final decision.
Bert, the HR director, told the Klamath County budget committee that the elected officials compensation board recommended a 5% increase for the county surveyor to correct pay compression and ensure the surveyor’s wage exceeds that of the deputy. “The committee recommended a 5% increase for the surveyor,” Bert said during the presentation.
The board’s comparators were selected using population, budget, full‑time equivalent counts and county rank, Bert said; elected officials were evaluated on salary and comparable FTEs. Bert confirmed that, aside from the sheriff, the committee recommended that “all elected positions … receive a COLA equal to that approved for the collective bargaining groups after the conclusion of the current negotiations.” When asked about the sheriff, Bert said no additional adjustment is needed at this point.
Committee members pressed for numeric impacts and timing. Bert gave the proposed surveyor salary after the increase as $58,487.52. Commissioners asked whether a county‑wide COLA currently exists; staff replied that the COLA is effectively set at 0 until bargaining concludes. One member also noted conflict‑of‑interest rules and recused themselves from compensation discussion.
Beyond elected‑official pay, Bert outlined the HR department’s FY27 proposed budget at $575,461, citing a conversion of a 3/4 time position to full time, maintained legal‑services funding at $25,000 and an increase in recruitment spending to $9,000 to support more aggressive hiring efforts outside the county. Bert said computer‑equipment costs and internal IT charges are rising and that some IT costs are baked into internal‑service allocations.
Why it matters: The committee’s choices on elected‑official pay and HR staffing influence recruitment, retention and internal salary compression across county departments. The committee did not adopt a final decision on COLA for elected officials during the hearing; staff said any COLA would follow the outcome of collective‑bargaining negotiations.
The budget review continued with follow‑up questions on internal‑service allocations and IT charges; no formal motions or votes on compensation were recorded during the session.
