Letter: Measure S committee explains their oversight role and actions

As the community may recall, in November 2022, citizens of the unincorporated area of El Dorado County within the Tahoe Basin voted to increase the transient occupancy tax (TOT) by 4 percent, with the money
generated through this increase to be used exclusively for road maintenance and snow removal, and further, that this new revenue is to be in addition to the money the county has historically expended on street maintenance. This successful ballot measure also called for the appointment of an oversight committee to ensure all monies collected are expended on equipment purchase and road maintenance in accordance with the requirements of the ballot measure.

In a recent letter to the editor, it was suggested that the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors has inappropriately diverted this additional TOT to uses other than those specified in the ballot measure. As chair of the Measure S Oversight Committee, I want to assure our community that this is not the case.

The county began collecting this additional revenue in January 2023 and isolated it in a separate account to allow for ease of accountability. Measure S revenue collected during the first six months of 2023 totaled $1,127,466.49.

Our oversight committee met three times during 2023 to begin the process of identifying how best to prioritize use of this new funding. As most will recall, Pioneer Trail suffered significant damage during the heavy 2022/23 winter we experienced, and the committee and county staff agreed it was imperative that Pioneer Trail repairs were a priority. While agreeing that Pioneer Trail required immediate attention, the committee also expressed the desire to use some of the money for the purchase of new snow removal equipment and that future revenues should be split between necessary equipment purchases and the repair of roads within our neighborhoods that are literally crumbling.

In addition to the immediate repairs to Pioneer Trail, the oversight committee also recommended the purchase of a new blower, which has been ordered.

I know that in many neighborhoods this winter, snow removal efforts fell far short of our expectations and this concern is being addressed. Because both Caltrans and the City of South Lake Tahoe offer higher compensation for street maintenance personnel, the county has found it difficult to attract and retain the number of equipment operators necessary to meet the need. The oversight committee will raise this concern and work to ensure future snow removal operations in all our neighborhoods are up to par.

Finally, the next Measure S Oversight Committee meeting has been set for 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, May 1 in the California Conservation Corp. building at 1949 Apache, is open to the public, and I hope you will plan to attend.

Janet McDougall
Chair, El Dorado County Measure S Oversight Committee