FLIPPING TO GOLD
ARTISTIC TALENT
8 local gymnasts win NGA national championships.
Students Meet the Masters in art class.
Sports, A6
News, etc., B1
171
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VOLUME 171 • ISSUE 75 | 75¢
mtdemocrat.com
MONDAY, JUNE 27, 2022
Revenues up for city budget Andrew Vonderschmitt Staff writer The Placerville 2022-23 budget shows projected increases in revenue allowing for additional staffing, vegetation management and bolstered capital improvement projects. The budget will return to City Council June 28 for adoption. Finance Director and Assistant City Manager Dave Warren presented the proposed budget to City Council June 14. According to Warren, the state Bradley Burns Sales Tax, used as a significant local economic indicator, saw a 7.3% increase in Placerville in the fourth quarter of 2021. The state and county sales tax pool, which Warren explained is online sales tax, saw a decrease of 5.5%. He credited the dip in online sales tax to people getting back to “normal” following the pandemic and returning to brick and mortar shopping. The General Fund is budgeted to increase roughly $1.2 million in expenditures. That’s 12.24% over 2020-21’s General Fund expenditures of $9.8 million. This increase will go toward expanding or modifying staffing in the Police, Administration, Engineering, Development, Community Services
Mountain Democrat photo by Thomas Frey
Kimo Ledward hangs out with Spartacus at his home in Georgetown. When the dog needed a place to live, Ledward was there without hesitation.
Saving Spartacus Thomas Frey Staff writer
A
14 -year-old dog named Spartacus has had a tough go since the Caldor Fire destroyed his home in Grizzly Flat. Now he’s got a new life in Georgetown. Spartacus was a guardian dog at Stonebaker Ranch in Grizzly Flat. It was kind of a homestead situation, according to Kathy Hart of HartSong Ranch Animal Sanctuary. People could come and live there for free if they contributed to the wellbeing of the property. When the Caldor Fire left the property in shambles in August 2021, the owner — an elderly man named Chris — worked to find a temporary home for Spartacus with someone that lived in the area. A place was found but it was basically a dog run and kennel situation, according to Hart. She said Spartacus just went downhill from there. He stopped eating and he didn’t want to get up. He wanted to be back home. n
See SPARTACUS, page A7
Spartacus at his Grizzly Flat property.
and Finance departments, and includes a $75,000 contingency. General Fund revenues, comprised of 60% sales tax, are projected to also grow in 2022-23, by 12.65%. General Fund revenue totals would amount to $11 million. Comparing the General Fund to a single dollar, Warren showed the council the percentages of expenditures for each department. The Police Department and Community Services are expected to use the most funding, coming in at 34 and 27 cents, respectively. Other funds in the overall budget were projected to increase. Water funds grew $177,227 and sewer funds $221,053. Of the 15 smaller funds such as downtown parking, gas tax, Measures L and J and American Rescue Plan Act, only one will see a deficit. Warren commented on the Measure J Fund deficit. “Because of the revised sales tax projections, which are slightly lower, that fund has about a $61,000 deficit,” he said. “However, we do anticipate bankrolling about $272,000 this year in that fund.” The total operating budget is projected to grow roughly $2.5 million or 9.45% in n
See BUDGET, page A3
County finding funds for Ponderosa Road sidewalks Eric Jaramishian Staff writer The El Dorado County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the 2022 Capital Improvement Program PLACE ADDRESS LABEL HERE
at its June 14 meeting with one notable change regarding pedestrian safety on Ponderosa Road. Department of Transportation staff recommended supervisors authorize $500,000 in tribe funds to install sidewalks near the interchange of Ponderosa Road and Highway 50 up to Ponderosa High School. Department of Transportation Director Rafael Martinez said he expects high pedestrian usage for the sidewalks. Martinez hopes adding an additional $500,000 will qualify the county for an Active Transportation Program grant, a biannual funding opportunity for projects that encourage increased bicycling and
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walking managed by the state. The grant requires a match from the county. “We thought if we put in $500,000 of our own county money, then we’re going to score better for us to get awarded this grant,” Martinez said. “It’s a really great project if we are able to get the grant.” According to the CIP project change table, work could start as soon as the 2023-24 fiscal year and end the next fiscal year. The project is estimated to cost more than $2.2 million. Supervisors approved, even praised, the direction and voted for the matching fund. “I actually would not let my kids walk to the high school because it
A project in the Capital Improvement Program will implement sidewalks on Ponderosa Road near Highway 50 leading up to Ponderosa High School. Mountain Democrat photo by Eric Jaramishian
was so unsafe there,” said Board Chair Lori Parlin. “This is a worthy project.” Another topic came to discussion regarding the onramps and offramps at Cameron Park Drive and Highway 50. County Planning Commissioner Kris Payne, who spoke during public comment on the CIP discussion, reminded everyone
of his solution to implement slip ramps that would have drivers exit off Rodeo Road instead of Cameron Park Drive. “It is just a congested mess there,” Parlin said. “It actually has impeded a few proposed projects in that area because of the congestion. “At what point as the traffic backs up onto the highway, when
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people are trying to exit eastbound, is that such a safety issue that Caltrans must do something?” John Kahling, engineering deputy director for the Department of Transportation, told the board he suspects Caltrans thinks they took care of that problem with the lane n
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