Column: The Vital Role of Snow Removal Services

Winter storms in the higher elevations of El Dorado County are a two-sided coin that, on the one hand, provides exquisite breathtaking beauty, recreational opportunity and lifegiving water, and on the other hand, potential challenges for those of us in the unincorporated portions of South Lake Tahoe when those storms leave behind several feet of snow.

As we move into the winter season, we wanted to provide our residents with the latest information on where El Dorado County stands in preparation for snow removal services.

Nighttime snow removal services are indispensable during storm cycles and there has been great concern that we will cease to provide such services. El Dorado County remains steadfast in its commitment to providing nighttime snow removal services in the Basin, ensuring accessibility and safety for residents, businesses, and emergency services during weather conditions.

Staffing for the seasonal, extra help snow removal positions at night in the Basin is challenging. The County took unprecedented measures this year to address those staffing challenges. Snow removal hiring efforts began in April. Recently, the County’s HR and Transportation departments have worked aggressively to streamline and fast-track the hiring process, continuing to offer hiring incentives and keeping the recruitment for these hard-to-fill positions open.

Simply offering higher wages for these positions may be one approach to hiring more extra help staff, but the Highway Maintenance/ Snow Removal workers are a subset of the union with which the County has been and is currently bargaining in good faith; unfortunately, we cannot elaborate on the details and risk jeopardizing those negotiations. But we are doing things to fill the employee candidate pipeline both before and after we need the “boots on the ground” rather than waiting until we are in crisis. Even with these efforts, the scale of major storms means resources could be stretched thin, and when this occurs, we ask for your patience.

What You Can Expect this Winter
- We currently have eighty percent of our 21 Tahoe Basin positions filled and all our Tahoma positions filled, though some of the new hires won’t start until after the first of the year.
- We will always have at least five night-shift snow removal workers in the Basin.
- We will prioritize major arterials and bus routes, assist emergency responders when needed, and then work on residential neighborhoods.
- We are continuing to hold our recruitment open for now.
- During equipment failure, plowing will pick up in the same spot where it broke down.

How You Can Help
Residents also have a crucial role to play. Keeping streets and properties free of obstacles like parked vehicles, trash cans, or debris can significantly speed up the plowing process. These obstructions not only slow operations but, in some cases, can prevent plows from clearing roads altogether.

El Dorado County removes snow on nearly 200 road miles in the Basin. We do it to the best of our ability and we are proud and grateful to the snow removal crew we have for their dedication and commitment.

- Brooke Laine, El Dorado County District V Supervisor
Rafael Martinez, Director, El Dorado County Department of Transportation