Board Restores Fire Funding After Firefighters Pack Budget Hearing

The Calaveras County Board of Supervisors adopted a revised FY 2026-27 budget with a $4.86 million structural deficit on Sept. 8, but not before a packed room of firefighters, union leaders, and residents forced a last-minute reversal on fire district funding cuts. The marathon session laid bare a county stretched to its limits — where library branches may close because one staffer has a meeting, probation officers can't monitor released felons, and firefighters earn $19 an hour with no retirement.

• Board redirects $367,435 from contingencies to restore fire district TOT allocations after impassioned testimony from chiefs, union presidents, and volunteers
• Sheriff voluntarily gives $12,500 from her own budget to fire districts, warning the one-time fix doesn't solve next year's deeper hole
• $59,000 added for library staffing after director reveals she may have to close a branch the following day
• Chapter 20.10 governing Lake Tullock rescinded 5-0 despite Tridam bringing three attorneys to oppose the repeal
• County faces $4.86M structural deficit with discretionary revenue growth of less than 1% — far below inflation

The most dramatic moment of the meeting came during the budget public hearing, when a unified front of fire chiefs, union leaders, volunteers, and residents descended on the board to fight a June decision that redirected Transient Occupancy Tax dollars away from fire districts. The revised budget had allocated just $132,565 to fire districts — a sharp reduction from prior levels — to cover the CDF dispatch contract and other county needs.