On March 30, the Board of Supervisors held a special meeting to allocate Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) revenue for the 2021-22 fiscal year.
TOT is the tax that visitors pay when they book a room in the county (including vacation home rentals). Currently, the TOT tax rate in unincoporated El Dorado County is calculated at 10 percent of the cost of the room. About two-thirds of the TOT revenue in the county is generated from lodging in the Tahoe Basin.
While there is no legal requirement for how TOT revenue must be spent, historically the county has spent it majority on economic development activities including the promotion of El Dorado County tourism. In 2019, however, the Board of Supervisors made a policy change to allow TOT funds to address the impacts of tourism such as road maintenance, snow removal, fire protection, and medical services. 2021-22 will be the first year the policy change is implemented.
After reviewing several requests, the Board approved the following expenditures for 2021-22:
- $1,300,000: Road Maintenance
- $500,000: Snow Plow (Snow Removal Equipment)
- $142,500: Code Enforcement (Additional Code Enforcement Officer and vehicle)
- $85,500: Additional Senior Development Tech
- $68,000: El Dorado Hills Fire (Search and Rescue 2020 Impacts)
- $5,800: Georgetown Fire (Rescue Equipment)
- $222,000: Lake Valley Fire District Request (Visitor Calls for Service 2020
Impacts)
- $350,000 (not to exceed): Lake Valley Fire District Request (Squad/Quick Attack
fire apparatus) funding to be received after actual cost is determined
Additionally, the Board approved a proposal by Supervisors Parlin and Turnboo to use $350,000 in TOT money left over from prior years to accelerate community planning efforts in the county. To watch the full meeting, click here.
