The Klamath County Sheriff has won an apparent victory in a standoff with the Klamath County Budget Committee.
Klamath County Sheriff Frank Skrah claimed that failure to fill the 400 thousand dollar shortfall would have jeopardized public safety…
“You can’t fill a gallon bucket with a pint of water.”
After several hours of heated testimony from the public favoring funding for the Sheriff, the board agreed to tap into road fund reserves to fill that funding gap.
“I asked for a budget that was equal to, not a nickel more than what former Sheriff Tim Evinger got.” Notes Sheriff Skrah. “And we got that. A zero-growth budget – and we’re going to make it work.”
Klamath County Commissioner Dennis Linthicum argued against tapping into the reserves…
“We’re going to push this into the future, and future generations will be required to pick up the pieces.”
Committee member Del Fox noted that state law allows the reserves to be used to fund patrols…
“We have legislative authority to use a reserve fund that’s so restricted, that we can’t use it for anything else.”
Sheriff Skrah says he would have had to lay off six deputies if the funding gap hadn’t been closed…
“Fortunately, I can go back to the office now, give them a hug, and say, hey – we did our part, now it’s up to us, all of us, to do all our collective parts to save as many dollars as we can.”
Sheriff Skrah says that his next step will be to work on options for permanently funding the office…those options could include a taxing district, or funding levy.
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