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C ALI FORN IA’S OLDE ST NE W SPAPER
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VOLUME 173 • ISSUE 43 | $1.00
mtdemocrat.com
MONDAY, APRIL 15, 2024
Grand jury report finds EDHCSD lacks oversight, transparency Noel Stack Managing editor
The El Dorado County Civil Grand Jury released a report detailing its investigation into the El Dorado Hills Community Services District April 5, sharply criticizing current and former CSD board members and staff for the way they addressed
multiple controversies and issues over the last few years. “The grand jury is proposing a broad range of recommendations that include greater oversight to CSD decisions that ensure transparency and public involvement,” the recommendation’s summary reads. “There is a need for ongoing Brown Act and ethics
training for the Board of Directors and staff. CSD needs to improve transparency around the intended use of the large accumulations of cash reserves ... and be more responsive to public concerns about assessment amounts and how they are certified.” n See GRAND JURY REPORT, page A7
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Placerville extends needle exchange ban in face of pending CDPH suit Odin Rasco Staff writer
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Team Rubicon volunteers are pictured working on a project in Nevada City.
Team Rubicon to assist Grizzly Flat residents Mountain Democrat staff
T
eam Rubicon, a veteranled humanitarian organization, has chosen to assist the community of Grizzly Flat in its postfire recovery. The Caldor
Community Recovery Project objective is to remove remaining hazardous trees in Grizzly Flat, according to a news release from the El Dorado Resource Conservation District. Although many organizations have been involved in the Caldor
Fire recovery effort, there are still a lot of trees that pose a threat to property and life. On April 18 a group of 80 volunteers from Team Rubicon will start to arrive at their
Although a lawsuit filed by the California Department of Public Health against the city and El Dorado County in response to bans on needle exchanges passed by the two government entities is still pending in court, Placerville’s City Council voted Tuesday to extend its temporary ban on such services. Both city and county officials repeatedly expressed concerns and complaints over the greater part of the past year regarding Sierra Harm Reduction Coalition, claiming the organization’s operations cause more harm than good for the community. Law enforcement officials, including El Dorado County Sheriff Jeff Leikauf and Placerville Police Chief Joseph Wren described a glut of discarded needles in public areas and SHRCprovided paraphernalia at the scene of at least two overdose deaths, and argued the organization was antithetical to the county’s chosen approach to homelessness. Both county and city leadership sent letters to the CDPH last summer requesting the SHRC’s license to operate in the region not be renewed; despite these letters, the license was renewed but eventually limited the coalition’s service area to Placerville. After the license was first renewed, the El Dorado
n See TEAM RUBICON, page A3
n See NEEDLE EXCHANGE BAN, page A6
SLT vacancy tax ballot initiative deadline looms Katelyn Welsh Tahoe Daily Tribune
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A red-white-and-blueclad Uncle Sam has jumped into efforts opposing a vacancy tax for South Lake
Tahoe, waving a rally sign as cars passed an April 2 demonstration organized by the Lake Tahoe Taxpayers Association. The sign referred to the proposed vacancy tax measure as a “$6,000/yr money grab.” The proposed measure would tax property owners for leaving their house vacant the majority of the year but proponents must first gather enough signatures from South Lake Tahoe residents to place the measure on the November ballot. The Lake Tahoe Taxpayers Association is also circulating a form and instructions on how to withdraw signatures from the petition.
A man dressed as Uncle Sam joins an April 12 rally in South Lake Tahoe against the effort to place a vacancy tax measure on the ballot.
More than 2,000 signatures have been gathered in support of the vacancy tax ballot initiative. Only 1,159 signatures are required to get the vacancy tax measure on the ballot, but proponents are finding many gathered signatures don’t count. Signers need to be registered voters in the city of South Lake Tahoe and many signers live outside official city limits or are not registered at their current address. The city has set a soft deadline of April 22 for proponents to submit signatures for verification. City officials say, per election code, proponents have 180 n See VACANCY TAX, page A7
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