Board adopts updated environmental fees and authorizes collection of delinquent South Tahoe refuse charges

El Dorado County’s Board of Supervisors on July 21 adopted an updated fee schedule from the Environmental Management Department and approved a resolution confirming delinquent mandatory refuse collection fees for South Tahoe Refuse Company as special assessments on the secured tax roll.

Jeff Warren, the department director, said staff used fiscal year 25-26 budget data and a time-study analysis to calculate full-cost recovery billing rates. He reported an overall increase in hourly rates and individual fees of approximately 28.9%, which he said equates to an average of roughly 4% per year since 2019. The proposed resolution also includes a provision authorizing the CEO to make an annual adjustment tied to the San Francisco–Oakland–Hayward area consumer price index.

On the South Lake Tahoe refuse program, Warren reviewed the mandatory refuse collection program’s lien process (Solid Waste Ordinance chapter 8.42) for accounts delinquent 90 days or more and summarized outcomes: about a 50% decrease in delinquent accounts, a 45% reduction in total delinquent balances, and approximately $146,000 prevented in bad-debt write-offs over nine years. The board adopted the resolution confirming delinquent amounts as special assessments and authorized collection alongside ad valorem property taxes; the county remits collected proceeds to South Tahoe Refuse minus administrative fees.

There was no in-person public comment on the fee schedule. An online commenter on the refuse item urged staff to continue improving outreach and dispute-resolution steps to reduce liens that could otherwise be resolved before referral to the tax roll.

Both the fee schedule and the delinquent-fee resolution were approved by the board during the meeting.