EL DORADO COUNTY, Calif. — Oct. 22, 2026
The El Dorado County Board of Supervisors approved more than $452,000 in developer-fee funding Tuesday to reimburse the El Dorado Hills County Water District for fire apparatus, emergency vehicles and other equipment, including a new aerial truck serving the growing El Dorado Hills community.
The Oct. 20 action authorized the county auditor-controller to disburse $452,717.21 from the district’s Development Impact Mitigation Fee account. The county’s official agenda record, Item 26-1626, identifies the funding as development impact fees.
The reimbursement includes $399,848.68 for a replacement Pierce aerial truck assigned to Station 85, along with funding for two replacement Chevrolet Tahoe chief-officer vehicles and additional equipment and facility costs.
Aerial truck serves growing El Dorado Hills
The custom-built Pierce truck is designed to help firefighters reach elevated areas of tall residential buildings and large warehouses. Its equipment includes a pump, water tank, aerial device and ground ladders.
According to the department’s Station 85 facility information, the aerial equipment can support up to 1,000 pounds and provide a 90-foot horizontal reach for rescue and elevated operations.
The truck replaces the previous apparatus and has been in service since December 2025, according to the department’s public announcement described in the information provided for this report.
Station 85, located at 1050 Wilson Boulevard near El Dorado Hills Boulevard, serves as the department’s administrative headquarters and houses Truck 85, a frontline fire engine, an advanced life support ambulance and the on-duty battalion chief.
The department operates five stations serving approximately 19,000 homes and 51,500 residents across roughly 58,500 acres. Its service area includes established neighborhoods as well as areas where new development can increase demands on emergency services.
Why developer fees can pay for fire equipment
The reimbursement reflects a funding arrangement intended to help communities address the public-service demands associated with development.
According to the county’s official staff report, the California Mitigation Fee Act authorizes fees to offset the impacts of new development on public facilities. The county collects these fees on behalf of special districts and deposits the revenue into separate accounts designated for each district.
The staff report explains the rationale: “Each request is necessary to expand services in response to the demand created by new developments.”
The fees are not unrestricted general revenue. Their use must be supported by the applicable fee program and its analysis of the relationship between development and the public facilities or services needed to accommodate it.
The El Dorado Hills Fire Department relies heavily on property taxes, which account for nearly 75% of its revenue, according to the information provided for this report. Development impact fees provide another source of funding for eligible equipment and infrastructure costs.
Nexus study changes the reimbursement formula
The amount eligible for developer-fee funding depends on the district’s nexus study — an analysis connecting the impacts of development to the cost of providing public facilities and services.
When the aerial truck was purchased, the applicable study allowed development impact fees to cover 26.5% of the cost of replacing existing district vehicles and equipment.
A revised nexus study took effect March 6, 2026, reducing the eligible share of replacement costs to 21.5% for purchases made on or after that date. New apparatus, vehicles, equipment and facilities may be funded entirely through impact fees when authorized under the applicable study, according to the county’s staff report.
The change matters for future equipment purchases because a smaller eligible percentage of replacement costs means the district must cover a larger share through other funding sources.
The truck reimbursement also illustrates why the percentage must be applied to the appropriate purchase and cost category. The county lists $399,848.68 for the replacement aerial truck, rather than treating the entire $452,717.21 disbursement as the truck’s cost.
What the decision means for residents
For El Dorado Hills residents, the reimbursement supports the replacement of specialized emergency-response equipment without treating all of its cost as a burden on the district’s other funding sources.
The policy also raises a continuing public-finance question: how should the cost of maintaining emergency-response capacity be divided between existing taxpayers and development that creates additional demand for services?
The county’s action authorizes the specified disbursement from the district’s development impact fee account. It does not, by itself, establish that every future equipment purchase will qualify for the same reimbursement percentage.
Residents seeking more detail can review the Oct. 20 Board of Supervisors agenda item and the El Dorado Hills Fire Department’s apparatus and station information.
