How Klamath Falls is run
Who runs Klamath Falls, what it costs, and where your money goes
The city manager, council pay, the budget, your property tax bill and who provides each service, from Klamath Falls's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 11, 2026.
Who runs Klamath Falls
A city manager appointed by the council runs day-to-day operations and appoints department heads and staff. The City Council is a mayor elected citywide and five councilors elected from wards. It passes ordinances and adopts the budget. The mayor may veto some ordinances and may cast a tie-breaking vote.
What they are paid
- $450 a month vehicle allowance
- $40 a month cell phone allowance
- Medical, dental, vision and life insurance like other management employees
- $20,000 basic life and $20,000 AD&D insurance
- Severance of one month's base salary and benefits per full year served, minimum three months, maximum six
Klamath Falls city staff
160 full-time-equivalent positions, including Police 45, Water and utility billing 24, Wastewater 15, All other departments 77. FY2026-27 adopted budget (FTE positions). City of Klamath Falls · Jun 16, 2025
The city posts pay tables by grade and step for management, AFSCME and Teamster positions. We found no city-published list of pay by employee. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Klamath Falls in the red?
Cities must pass a balanced budget, so "profit" and "deficit" mean something different here. The useful questions: does the city's everyday money (the general fund) cover its everyday costs, how much does it keep in savings compared with its own target, and how big are its pension and debt bills.
The city's own outlook
The city uses a 10-year model and says it still faces a structural imbalance driven by PERS and health care costs. The budget projects general fund net working capital falling from $18.3 million on July 1, 2024 to $6.1 million by July 1, 2026. City of Klamath Falls · Jun 16, 2025
Savings against the city's own target
Unassigned general fund balance: $16.7M (2025-06-30). The city's own target: Keep a general fund balance of at least 20% of annual operating expenditures. City of Klamath Falls · Jan 30, 2026
Why we skip the "budgeted deficit": many cities plan to dip into savings, then spend less than planned. The audited result tells you what really happened.
Where the money comes from and goes
The general fund only: the city's everyday money for FY2025-27.
Comes from
- Intergovernmental (mostly Air National Guard project grants)$172M · 77%
- Property taxes$19.1M · 9%
- Beginning net working capital$10.6M · 5%
- Internal charges to other funds$7.1M · 3%
- Franchise fees$7.1M · 3%
- Investment income$2.4M · 1%
- Charges for services$2.1M · 1%
- Other (other taxes, licenses, fines, transfers in, other)$4M · 2%
Goes to (FY2025-27)
- Development services (incl. Air National Guard construction)$158M · 70%
- Police$18.9M · 8%
- Street maintenance$15.9M · 7%
- Parks$6.3M · 3%
- Reserved for future$5.9M · 3%
- Maintenance$2.9M · 1%
- Information technology$2.7M · 1%
- Other (administration, finance, pool, court, HR, debt, transfers, other)$14.1M · 6%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
About 33 cents of each property-tax dollar goes to the city ($5.24 of $16.12 per $1,000). Rates are shown after Oregon's Measure 5 compression.
33¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Klamath Falls
- City of Klamath Falls$5.10 operating plus $0.14 for general obligation bond debt, after compression.5.24 · 33%
- School district3.93 · 24%
- Other districts3.74 · 23%
- Klamath County$1.67 operating plus $1.54 debt service.3.21 · 20%
- Total ($ per $1,000 of assessed value)16.12
FY2024-25 rates for property in the city of Klamath Falls (Klamath County). City of Klamath Falls · Jan 30, 2026
Who provides your services
Not everything in Klamath Falls is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityKlamath Falls Police DepartmentCity of Klamath Falls · Jan 30, 2026
- Fire protectionSeparate districtKlamath County Fire District 1The city fire department merged into the district in 1992.Western Fire Chiefs Association · Oct 22, 2025
- Emergency medical services and ambulanceSeparate districtKlamath County Fire District 1Western Fire Chiefs Association · Oct 22, 2025
- 911 dispatchSeparate districtKlamath 9-1-1 Communications DistrictKlamath 9-1-1 Communications District
- WaterThe cityCity of Klamath Falls water utilityCity of Klamath Falls · Jan 30, 2026
- WastewaterThe cityCity of Klamath Falls wastewater utilityCity of Klamath Falls · Jan 30, 2026
- GeothermalThe cityCity of Klamath FallsCity of Klamath Falls · Jan 30, 2026
- StreetsThe cityCity of Klamath Falls Public WorksCity of Klamath Falls · Jan 30, 2026
- AirportThe cityKlamath Falls Airport (City of Klamath Falls)City of Klamath Falls · Jan 30, 2026
- Municipal courtThe cityKlamath Falls Municipal CourtCity of Klamath Falls · Jan 30, 2026
- Code enforcementThe cityCity of Klamath FallsCity of Klamath Falls · Jan 30, 2026
Compared with similar cities
The cities in this state closest in population that we cover. Read it for scale, not as a ranking: cities provide different services.
| Per city | AshlandOR | Klamath FallsOR | MilwaukieOR | RoseburgOR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 20,889 | 22,111 | 22,114 | 23,693 |
| Top administrator's base pay | Not confirmed | $226,455 | Not confirmed | $199,884 |
| Council member pay | Not current (2023) | $600 | $3,684 | No salary |
| General fund per resident | $2,276 | $10,153 | $3,241 | $2,102 |
| Debt per resident | $1,166 | $2,465 | $2,426 | $89 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $1,754 | $801 | $961 | $1,078 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 13.0 | 7.2 | 7.4 | 7.5 |
Figures as shown in each city's section, divided by its population. Years differ by state, and pension figures are measured differently in each state (each city page says how). Klamath Falls and Milwaukie pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Klamath Falls publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- No: Audited financial report filed on timeThe FY2025 audited report is posted, but it is dated Jan. 30, 2026, after the six-month deadline that state law sets. City of Klamath Falls · Jan 30, 2026
- Yes: Adopted budget posted onlineThe adopted 2025-2027 city budget and urban renewal budget are posted on the finance page. City of Klamath Falls
- Yes: City manager's contract findable onlineThe 2022 employment agreement and the 2025 salary authorization are posted on the city's agenda portal. City of Klamath Falls · Jan 25, 2022
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member onlineMinutes list who moved, who seconded and how each councilor voted on motions. City of Klamath Falls · Jun 2, 2025
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentThe city charter sets pay at $200 a month for the mayor and $50 a month for each councilor. City of Klamath Falls
- Partly: Employee pay published City of Klamath Falls
Questions to ask your council
- The general fund spent $31.0 million and took in $30.5 million in FY2024-25, and the budget projects net working capital falling to $6.1 million by July 1, 2026. How will the city keep its 20% fund balance target?
- About $172.1 million of the $224.5 million two-year general fund is intergovernmental money, mostly for Air National Guard projects. What happens to city costs if that federal funding is delayed?
- The city's share of the Oregon PERS net pension liability was $17.7 million on June 30, 2025. How will rising PERS costs affect the general fund?
- City debt rose to $54.5 million on June 30, 2025, mostly state loans for the wastewater plant. How will sewer rates change to repay it?
The fiscal year runs July 1 to June 30, and the city adopts a two-year budget. For FY2025-27, the Budget Committee met May 15, 2025, and the City Council held the hearing and adopted the budget on June 16, 2025. The next budget must be adopted by June 30, 2027. See who is running for council
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