Klamath County DA reports heavy caseloads and overtime, moves attorneys to salaried status May 1

The Klamath County District Attorney's office reported heavy caseloads and staffing strain and said it will move attorneys to salaried status effective May 1 to manage overtime and budget pressures. The DA’s office representative, introduced in the meeting as 'Miss Molina,' told the board the office has more than 3,400 referrals and that most deputy district attorneys carry caseloads ranging from about 300 to 600 cases. She said the most recent pay period included 102 overtime hours and that the office’s overtime spending to date is $162,807.56.

Miss Molina said the office is hiring two people: a DDA 2 from Douglas County who will start April 16 and a third‑year law student who is court‑certified and expected to take cases, though the student must have work reviewed by a licensed attorney and will sit for the bar in July. She said those hires will help but will not fully eliminate staffing pressure.

To control costs and manage workloads, the DA's office announced an administrative decision effective May 1 to switch attorneys to salaried pay; the DA said she will coordinate changes with Human Resources. Commissioners acknowledged the difficulty and voiced appreciation for the DA office staff; one commissioner noted the arrangement had been used as a short‑term bridge during previous staffing shortages.

The DA framed the move as necessary to keep within a constrained budget and to ensure case coverage; commissioners agreed to monitor staffing and revisit the issue if catastrophic staffing problems arise.