County budget workshop turns to sheriff funding as commissioners debate use of SRS receipts

An extended budget discussion on March 2 focused on whether Klamath County should continue using Secure Rural Schools (SRS) receipts to support sheriff patrols and how to budget for multi-year sustainability.

Finance staff said a near-term SRS payment expected this week would be roughly $4.5 million after the 25% distribution to schools, with additional payments anticipated this spring. Commissioners and the sheriff’s office debated whether SRS money — historically tied to roads and schools in statute — should be budgeted for patrol operations or held separately and made transparent to the public.

One proposal discussed by several commissioners would create a dedicated fund for SRS receipts and seed it with a one-time transfer of roughly $2–$3 million from county reserves to provide predictable funding for the sheriff’s office for about three years while the county pursues longer-term options such as a levy or sustained forest-receipt levels. Proponents said a seed and separate appropriation would ease staffing volatility and improve retention.

Opponents cautioned that current state law ties the receipts to road and school funding and argued the county should not reassign statute-directed receipts without explicit legislative change. A board member said the county should be “honest” in the budget about how SRS funds will be spent and consider community outreach before asking voters for new taxes.

The sheriff’s office framed the budget request around training, equipment and personnel needs. The office requested additional contract legal services for law-enforcement-specific counsel, higher ammunition and training budgets to expand firearms qualifications beyond the current minimum, and continued support for overtime while vacancies are filled. The sheriff’s office emphasized training as liability mitigation: “training honestly isn’t that big of an expense in the big scheme of things when you start look at what use of force… incidents can cost you,” the sheriff’s representative said.

Jail leaders also described staffing shortfalls and overtime reliance to keep two jail pods operable. They said current vacancy levels require heavy use of overtime and that a continued multi-year funding plan would be necessary to stabilize staffing.

Commissioners asked staff to present options for a dedicated SRS-based fund and for public outreach scenarios, and directed staff to return with more detailed forecasts and a three-year plan showing how reserves and SRS receipts would interact with sheriff funding needs.