El Dorado County supervisors appoint Measure S committee, say goodbye to CAO Don Ashton

EL DORADO COUNTY, Calif. - During its meeting Tuesday, the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors congratulated Don Ashton as he bid farewell after serving 12 years of service with the County. He served as chief administrative officer for the last seven years.

The supervisors presented a proclamation recognizing Ashton's dedication to public service. It stated "Your leadership, integrity, and dedication to the employees and residents of El Dorado County will be missed,"

Tiffany Schmid has been given the position of acting chief administrative officer starting February 25. She has been with the County since 2014 and held the positions of principal planner and principal administrative analyst.

Also during its meeting on Tuesday, the supervisors appointed five residents of the Lake Tahoe Basin to be on the Measure S Citizens' Oversight Committee. Measure S was passed by voters and added four percent to the tourist occupancy tax (TOT) for the unincorporated area of the county in the Basin. The TOT tax is now 14 percent. The extra four percent is expected to create an additional $2.5 million in revenue that can only go to snow removal and maintenance of roads in the area.

Ami Chilton, Edward Miller, Russell Crawford, Janet McDougall, and Thomas Celio were voted unanimously to be the inaugural members of the committee and their terms expire in four years. Chilton is the director of capital finance and grants accounting at Lake Tahoe Community College, Miller is a 40-year member of the Meeks Bay Fire Protection Board of Directors, Crawford is a retired local contractor with expertise in paving and grading, McDougall is a longtime local with experience in municipal law and management, and Celio, another longtime local who retired from El Dorado County where he was in the transportation department after 32 years.