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Mountain Democrat, Wednesday, November 13, 2024

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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2024

Officials taking Rainy day of remembrance time to balance county budget Eric Jaramishian Senior staff writer

El Dorado County leaders are taking on initiatives to develop the 2025-26 fiscal year budget, exploring ways to ensure it’s balanced. Recognizing the slowing of discretionary revenue growth, including slower property tax growth, stagnant sales and use tax growth and discretionary transient occupancy tax revenue coming in lower than expected, Chief Administrative Office staff offered recommendations to help offset expected hits to the General Fund, including increasing countywide cost recovery from departments. The county recovers countywide costs from 15 out of its more than 30 departments. “We think there are a couple of “That is the goal places where we can look and be able to — to continue our legitimately recover service level to the some outside funding to cover countywide citizens of El Dorado services,” said County while being Assistant CAO Sue Hennike. prudent and aware Additionally, of our financial staff will look into constraints that look county departments’ services, travel and like will continue.” salary and benefits — Board Chair Wendy Thomas budgets for savings without impacting the public. This will include a review any vacant positions to determine if they can be eliminated without impacting service. Out of more than 2,052 full time equivalent county allocations, on which nearly $250 million is spent, 14% were vacant as of October. The county faces other expense pressures as it prepares to develop its 2025-26 budget, including expected expenses related to legal cases (i.e. Sheetz V. El Dorado County), health insurance and risk program cost increases and costs expected to address aging facilities. Hennike said the county might also need to come up with discretionary revenues to backfill its traffic impact fee program. “It’s something that we keep in the back of our minds that we just need to be aware of,” she told the supervisors at the Nov. 5 board meeting. The board previously set aside $4 million in anticipation of increases to workers’ compensation and general liability in last fiscal year’s adopted budget, in which costs have increased by 78% over the last five years, according to staff. To help offset hits to the General Fund, staff urged

Though rain and stormy weather prevented Veterans Day celebrations from happening at the El Dorado County Veterans Monument, that didn’t stop the public from honoring our nation’s heroes. Relocated to the Board of Supervisors’ chambers at the government center in Placerville, the public packed the meeting room Monday morning for a crowded but significant ceremony hosted by the El Dorado County Veterans Alliance and the Friends of the El Dorado County Veterans Monument. Above, Marines and veterans salute during the event. At right, the Veterans Alliance presented SFC Veronica Salter with the Veteran of the Year award. Salter served as a military police officer during the Global War on Terror, including service at Guantanamo Bay. Below, veterans listen as the Ponderosa High School Chamber Choir performs service anthems. Mountain Democrat photos by Eric Jaramishian ■ SEE MORE PHOTOS ON A10

■ See BUDGET, page A8

MAIL LABEL

‘This is honestly terrifying to me’: El Dorado County’s snow removal services are drastically cut back this winter Eli Ramos

Tahoe Daily Tribune MEYERS — A restless crowd demanded answers and solutions from the district offices of El Dorado County on Nov. 7, after learning that snow removal services would be far more limited than in years past. The main reason for these limited operations lies in the lower pay offered to potential snow removal employees. District 5 Supervisor Brooke Laine brought Department of Transportation

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Director Rafael Martinez to Meyers to help explain what’s happening with snow removal operations this upcoming winter. In February, Laine was told that there wasn’t enough staff to clear the roads, and she urged the DOT to address this issue. And though the DOT believed there would be enough staff for both day and night shifts, in October, this proved to not be the case. For the unincorporated communities , snow removal from the county is vital in providing them a way to get to work,

school and to other services. But as it stands, there is a deficit of employees to cover the night shift of plowing. And while the DOT is anticipating potential hires of four new employees, those hires have also applied to other snow removal jobs in the area. Martinez said, “The chances of getting those four employees are slim.” Currently, El Dorado County pays less than Caltrans, Placer County, the city of South Lake Tahoe and Washoe County, ■ See SNOW REMOVAL, page A4

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