Local Politics · El Dorado County
El Dorado County Voters Rejecting Measure S Sales Tax in Early Returns
Early unofficial results from El Dorado County's Nov. 3 election showed Measure S, a proposed 30-year sales tax increase for hospitals, fire agencies and wildfire prevention, trailing with 66.6% "no" votes to 33.4% "yes" as of 10 p.m. The measure needed a simple majority to pass and would have raised the county's sales tax by three-eighths of a cent, generating an estimated $13 million annually. Marshall Medical Center in Placerville helped develop the proposal, citing its need for approximately $40 million in seismic upgrades at the only acute care hospital on the county's West Slope. Tax rates would have risen to 7.625% in unincorporated areas, 8.625% in Placerville and 9.125% in South Lake Tahoe.