Budget committee approves Klamath County Extension Service District budget

Gallagher, administrative office manager for the Klamath County Extension, told the Klamath County Budget Committee on April 28 that the Extension’s proposed fiscal year 2627 budget includes no major program expansions but carries personnel cost pressure and higher insurance premiums. Gallagher said personnel services will rise about 9% because of scheduled salary increases for faculty and classified staff and an administrative reorganization that added FTE in the Basin research and experiment station. "We do have a 9% increase in our personnel costs for FY27," Gallagher said.

Gallagher said the district still expects a ~ $40,000 carryover that has been set aside in a reserve intended to help fund a future relocation, but that formal relocation plans have been paused until the county can incorporate community feedback. The presentation noted a roughly 20% increase in insurance costs and no planned capital outlay for FY27 while relocation plans are on hold; replacement needs for the experiment station remain a reserve priority. Gallagher said the district is retaining a $15,000 allotment to support county fair activities and created a new $6,000 community engagement line to improve program accessibility in outlying communities such as Bonanza, Merrill and Chiloquin. Total personnel services (including OPE) were stated at about $840,000 and services and supplies near $80,000, producing reported operating expenses of roughly $921,000 submitted to the university.

A motion to approve the Klamath County Extension Service District budget for fiscal year 2627 in the amount stated in the record was moved, seconded and passed by the committee. The committee also approved the imposition of the district’s ad valorem tax at the rate identified in the public record for the operations category; a fiscal‑impact figure for the tax was announced in the hearing record.

The committee offered no public comment on the extension budget during the hearing. The budget will take effect July 1, 2026, as recorded in committee action.

Next steps: staff will finalize the adopted budget documents and the county will proceed with the tax imposition as approved by the committee.