By admin 
The El Dorado County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to approve the transfer of roughly $450,000 in developer fees to reimburse the El Dorado Hills Fire Department for equipment purchases and upgrades.
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The Fire Department’s five stations serve about 19,000 homes and 51,500 residents across roughly 58,500 acres.
The new custom-built Pierce aerial truck features a pump, water tank, aerial device and ground ladders. It is designed to access roofs on tall residential buildings and large warehouses. The aerial device can support up to 1,000 pounds and extend up to 90 feet. The truck is used to respond to emergencies involving increasingly complex buildings, which are becoming more common in the department’s service area.
Nearly 75% of the district’s revenue comes from property taxes, but a portion of the county’s developer fees is set aside to replace and upgrade Fire Department equipment. When the truck was purchased, a study examining the relationship between development and the need for public services, known as a nexus study, determined that developer fees could be used to cover 26.5% of the cost of replacing existing district vehicles and equipment. A March 2026 nexus study reduced the figure to 21.5% for future purchases.
The new truck, which replaced the station’s existing truck, has been in use since December 2025, according to a social media announcement. It is assigned to Fire Station 85, the district’s administrative and emergency response headquarters, at the intersection of Wilson and El Dorado Hills boulevards.
The district agreed to purchase the truck in July 2022 for about $1.5 million. Nearly $400,000 of the cost will be reimbursed through the transfer approved Tuesday.
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The equipment was partially funded by developer fees, which the county collects from new developments. The amount of money generated for the district by those fees has decreased in recent years as new development has slowed.
Last year, the district paid more than $5.2 million to settle a 2015 lawsuit alleging the county, El Dorado Hills Community Services District and Fire Department violated the state’s Mitigation Fee Act by failing to submit required studies and charging improper permit fees, according to the Mountain Democrat.
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The developer fee fund held more than $11.5 million at the end of the 2020-21 fiscal year. Last year’s settlement left the account empty. The fund’s balance is expected to increase by about $591,000 this year, according to district financial records.
The district also purchased two new Chevrolet Tahoe SUVs to use as emergency response vehicles for chief officers. The vehicles will be used to respond to emergencies and provide command and operational support. Each SUV cost about $102,000, including emergency equipment, with roughly $21,900 per vehicle reimbursed through developer fees.
In addition to the vehicles, the Fire Department purchased a $3,100 portable cooling system for its new mechanic’s workstation at Station 85. It also spent $6,000 on design work for a planned training structure that simulates roofs at its training center. The structure will be used to train firefighters on common roof systems they will encounter during emergency operations.
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