To balance the budget for the upcoming fiscal year, the county had to use reserves and one-time grants to fill a budget deficit.
But those funding sources are finite and running out.
As a result, county commissioners are now discussing ways to create long-term financial stability.
Commissioner Derrick DeGroot said at a Tuesday meeting that a voluntary resignation or retirement program could be part of a broader budget strategy.
"I think we need to start having some work sessions with leadership and talking about restructure, reorganization and how we can drive our budget down," he said. "These could be tools in order to help accomplish that."
Commissioners voted unanimously to explore implementing such a program.
"While it's good to have employees with longevity for sure, employees with lots of longevity that are sort of in that ballpark range of retirement are a lot more costly to employ than a new employee," Commissioner Kelley Minty said.
The problem, DeGroot said in an interview, is that the cost of services is going up, while taxes and other sources of revenue are staying the same or even decreasing.
"So you have this divergence of dollars to provide service and the expense of that same service," he said. "Right now, we're just going to have to figure out how to live within our means."
At the meeting, commissioners also lifted a hiring freeze that had been in place since last August.
DeGroot said the only way for the county to address the deficit is by reducing staff, since those costs make up the majority of the budget.
"We've already reduced the cost of paper clips as far as we can," he said. "Now we have to actually start talking about human force."
The county has particularly struggled with a lack of funding for law enforcement.
In May, residents resoundingly voted down a measure that would have formed a public safety service district in the eastern part of the county, funded by an $89 annual tax per lot.
Nearby Josephine County recently offered a buyout program to some employees to help address budget concerns.
Many federal employees have also taken buyouts or early retirement in recent months amid cuts by the Trump administration.
Klamath County Commissioners must approve the county’s budget later this month.
Decisions on the voluntary resignation program will be made later, after the Human Resources department has presented some potential proposals.
