Cal-Tahoe JPA working with El Dorado County on funding needs

El Dorado County receives about $10 million annually to fund ambulance services on both the west and east slope of the county. This money comes from property taxes, assessments, special taxes and from ambulance billing. Since the area is so spread out, ambulance services are divided into two County Service Areas (CSAs), CSA-3 and CSA-7. CSA-3 covers the county portion of Lake Tahoe as well as the northern portion of Alpine County. Both CSAs work under a contract with El Dorado County.

How much CSA-3 receives was at question during a recent City Council meeting when SLT Fire Chief Jeff Meston told Council they need more money from the county to reimburse the City for an extra ambulance they provided when the JPA was formed.

Since that meeting there has been correspondence between the County and the Cal-Tahoe JPA. Those letters were presented during the Cal-Tahoe JPA's board meeting on Wednesday, March 11 at the SLT City Council Chambers. In one letter, Don Ashton, Director of El Dorado County Health & Human Services, said that while he disagreed with some of what Chief Meston said, he is committed to "working collaboratively to provide a safe and sustainable ambulance service throughout the county."

Much of Wednesday's meeting was held in closed session, the results of which cannot be released to the public. Less than an hour after that meeting ended, some members of the Cal-Tahoe JPA met with Ashton, County Counsel and Rich Todd, the Emergency Medical Services Administrator for El Dorado County. They discussed the issues being faced by the JPA funding shortfall. Ashton and the rest of the County representatives asked for some information from the JPA of which they will be gathering before their next meeting.

After that meeting all parties agreed to move forward in a positive manner to get resolution according to SLT City Councilwoman JoAnn Conner.

The Cal-Tahoe JPA is made up of two representatives from the South Lake Tahoe City Council (Wendy David and JoAnn Conner), two from the Lake Valley Fire Board (Dave Huber and Bob Bettencourt) and the two fire chiefs. The JPA also has an Executive Director, Ryan Wagoner and counsel. The JPA board is comprised of David, Conner, Huber and Bettencourt.

The next meeting for the Cal-Tahoe JPA is slated for April.