EL DORADO COUNTY, Calif. – Tightening the belt and creating a budget that meets forecasted revenues is a tough job and one that needs to be done, but listening to the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday drew concerns from those who call the Lake Tahoe Basin home, and those who keep neighborhoods safe.

There are several possible casualties in the Lake Tahoe Basin. On the possible cut list: Lake Valley Fire’s defensible space position and about $450,000 in funding for the department.

In a time when all fire officials ask property owners to harden their homes and properties to better prepare for and survive wildfire, defensible space is important. The Lake Valley Fire Protection District’s (LVFPD) defensible space employee inspected hundreds of properties last year from Strawberry to Meyers and Tahoma, guiding homeowners on proper defensible space, talking at outreach events, educating, and inspecting properties for proper home hardening. There are almost 6,500 parcels in their jurisdiction. The four West Slope supervisors said that their staff member could come to Lake Tahoe maybe two times a month to handle complaints only, but not to provide the service currently available to better protect the community.

County staff is recommending a 47 percent cut to Office of Wildfire Preparedness and Resilience programs. Citing the president’s executive order to bring logging back to forests, Board Chair George Turnboo said the federal government could possibly fund logging, but logging in the Lake Tahoe Basin is difficult due to regulations and no market for lumber far from mills.

“It sounds like a disaster,” said Supervisor Brooke Laine of the resiliency program cuts. She represents Pollock Pine and the Lake Tahoe Basin and was the only one to vote against the fire cuts.

The Board discussed possibly funding a part-time inspector or moving the planning department’s code enforcement officers who don’t have fire inspection experience over to cover Tahoe properties.

According to LVFPD Battalion Chief and Fuel Management Officer Martin Goldberg, their inspector already has a split position, covering property inspections along with inspections for vacation home rentals as required by the county.

“Cuts affect our ability to go above and beyond in emphasis areas,” said Goldberg.

Supervisor Brian Veerkamp said the Tahoe Basin already gets enough money, and that “Tahoe is a lower risk” for fire. He cited the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act’s “ton of money” as enough for fuel reduction.

Laine was the lone dissenter on the matter, asking that they leave the position in and explore options and find ways to keep it.

LVFPD had $517k budgeted for reimbursements last year for calls they made for what falls under the recommended funding from Tourist Occupancy Tax (TOT) – funding the impacts of tourism. LVFPD responds to numerous medical calls for tourists in VHRs in the Meyers area, but the board decided that they won’t cover those in the next budget. The Board was under the assumption that the funds were only for backcountry and Search and Rescue calls in the Basin.

Veerkamp said TOT has dropped, so they had to take this funding away.

Another cut to funding for Tahoe is the newly formed South Tahoe Transit JPA. Laine has worked hard on getting a form of transportation to Meyers and formed the JPA with the City of South Lake Tahoe to get federal funding to supply transit. The County signed an agreement with the City, stating they’d fund thirty percent of the start-up costs ($54,496), something they need to have in place to apply for federal funds. The City would cover the remaining 70 percent, but that is now in jeopardy. Veerkamp said he was okay with breaking the contract and facing possible litigation. The agreement was approved by a majority of the supervisors last year, and now Supervisor Lori Parlin says she felt it was “ramroded” down their throats.

The supervisors did approve funding of $29,200 to the Sacramento-Placerville Corridor JPA without any discussion. This is for the former Southern Pacific Railway right-of-way nature trails.

Previously, the Board voted to cut funding to agencies tasked with promoting tourism (and an increase in TOT) and economic development, including Hwy 50 Wagon Train, Greater Sacramento Economic Council, Tahoe Prosperity Center, and Arts & Culture El Dorado. Tahoe South Shore Chamber of Commerce (as well as the chamber in El Dorado County), and the Film Commission.

The new roundabout in Meyers at US50/Pioneer Trail is still going forward with previously approved funding.

The supervisors will meet again on April 22 to go over items they didn’t chop in the budget already, in preparation for having a balanced budget approved before the July 1 deadline.

TOT Funding

Approximately $7 – $9 million in Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) revenue is collected in the county portion of Lake Tahoe annually,. The County expects $5M from the basin and $2M from the West Slope next year. This discretionary funding is then split through the county. In the 2024-25 budget, Laine spearheaded $7,199,000 from the funding to come back to Lake Tahoe, a 61 percent increase over the previous budget. That money went to buy LVFPD new equipment, new snow removal equipment, a new road for Fallen Leaf Lake, VHR staff and collections costs, among a long list of other services (see here). For 2025-26, the Tahoe Basin is getting over $3,000,000 less, approximately $4,131,512 or 60 percent, and the West Slope $2,168,488, or 29.5 percent. The County will keep 10 percent to help with their deficit.

Laine argued three weeks ago to pare back funding to the fire districts affected by TOT payment reductions over a few years instead of just “ripping funding from everybody.” At that time, Veerkamp didn’t want to cut any of the impacts of tourism on fire districts, but during Tuesday’s meeting, he switched and said they shouldn’t fund the fire districts from TOT.

Laine said TOT funds go into the general fund, and she said as long as she is on the Board, Tahoe will get its fair share back into the basin. “We shouldn’t have to fight for it every single year,” said Laine. “We haven’t achieved that in the past and don’t want this to be put back on the shoulders of future leaders.”

The next El Dorado County Board of Supervisors’ meeting will be held on Tuesday, April 22 at 9 a.m. They will continue the budget conversation, and review department’s proposed budget cuts.

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