HELP WANTED
BOARD MEETING
YOUR BOARD NEEDS A
SECRETARY/CLERK
Tuesday, April 7th at 7:00 pm
PFPD Station 38
7061 Mount Aukum Rd
This person would be responsible for
taking and publishing the minutes of
board meetings. Since the Board
usually meets on the first Tuesday of the
first month of each quarter plus one
budget meeting in the summer, the
commitment would be for about five
meetings per year. To volunteer please
contact Loretta Hudelson at 620-3371.
SHOWCASE RANCHES
COMMUNITY SERVICES DISTRICT
Newsletter
Come to the Board Meeting to find the
answers to any questions you may have
about the Special Tax election or other
issues involving Showcase Ranches.
Get involved – it is YOUR community

THE BOARD IS SEEKING
APPLICANTS FOR THE POSITION OF
GENERAL MANAGER.
Showcase Ranches is a private development which contains common use
areas. A Community Services District
(CSD) was established in 1984 to
administer the business needs of these
common areas. These business needs
primarily consist of the maintenance,
administration, and regulation of the
roads, dam, lakes and other common
areas, and the development, approval
and execution of an annual budget. The
funds necessary to perform these
functions are collected for the CSD by El
Dorado County in your annual property
tax bill.
In order to more effectively manage
Community Service Districts, California
State laws require that Board of
Directors appoint a GENERAL
MANAGER to assist in the operation of
such Districts.
The General Manager will
responsible for the following:




be
Implementation of CSD policies
Attending all Board Meetings
Completing an Ethics Class
Must be a resident of SCR and
a registered voter in El Dorado
County.
If you are interested in this
VOLUNTEER position, or would like
more information, please contact
Ken Buchert 620-2035
Showcase Ranches CSD
P. O. Box 468
Mt. Aukum, California 95656
The volunteer CSD board members are:
Ken Buchart, Chairman; Lee Hodge,
Vice Chairman; Loretta Hudelson,
Financial Director; Ken Pence, Roads
and Cynthia Lewis, Grants.
Election to Increase the Special Tax
In early April, Showcase residents will
receive mail-in ballots addressing two
pressing issues facing our CSD. The
Showcase Board of Directors strongly
recommends that residents vote YES
on both of these issues.
The first issue asks residents to approve
an increase in the Special Tax, used
primarily for maintenance of the roads,
lakes and dam within Showcase, to $250
annually. The Special Tax is currently
$125 per parcel, which is the same
amount it has been since the CSD was
formed in 1984. According to the inflation
calculation provided by the U.S. Bureau
of Statistics website, costs have doubled
since then. For example, in 1984 a
gallon of gas cost $1.24, a gallon of milk
was $2.24, and a stamp was 20 cents.
The cost of road materials has increased
even faster. For example, gravel (AB)
for our roads has increased from $16/ton
in 2002 to $28/ton in 2008 alone.
There are 143 parcels in Showcase, so
the revenue from the Special Tax
amounts to about $18,000. Here are a
couple of examples of why that doesn’t
go very far today:
First, the cost of grading/graveling is
about $6/foot. Given our almost 6.5+
miles of gravel roads, it would cost
more than $200,000 to grade and put
gravel on all of them. At $6/foot,
$18,000 would only do 3,000 feet, a
little more than ½ mile. Knowing this,
we are sure you understand why you
may not have had your road graded or
seen any new gravel on most of our
roads in years.
Secondly, in 2007, the CSD obtained
FEMA funds to repair specified
sections of Dorado Canyon Road
replace some culverts, rock ditches
and a few other small repairs. These
relatively small repairs cost almost
$50,000. Had it not been for the
FEMA grant, these repairs would have
completely drained our reserves along
with our tax revenues for the year, with
absolutely nothing left for the gravel
roads. We can’t depend on possible
future FEMA windfalls to keep our
roads safe and in good repair.
Currently our budget squirrels away
$5,000 per year for anticipated repairs
to Dorado Canyon.
But one bad
winter could drain that nest egg and at
that rate of saving even without any
unforeseen problems, or repairs that
need to happen now, how long would
it take to save enough for resurfacing
or major repairs?
We must have a reliable income
source to support a budget sufficient to
maintain safe and usable roads.
Increasing the Special Tax to
$250/parcel/year simply returns the
revenue to the equivalent of the
original 1984 funding level.
Keep in mind that studies show that
good roads can add 20% to the value
of your home, and would certainly
lessen wear and tear on your vehicle.
Additionally, the Special Tax may be
tax deductible.
The second part of the ballot initiative,
which the Board believes to be equally
important, requests that a cost of living
(COL) increase, not to exceed three
per cent per year, be added to the
Special Tax annually. This provision is
included so that the tax will keep pace
with increases in the costs of materials
and labor in the future. Failure to
approve this portion of the measure
would only necessitate the district
spending funds for another election
somewhere down the line to once
again increase the tax.
You will have the option of voting for
each question individually. Your Board
STRONGLY recommends a YES vote
on BOTH issues. YOUR YES vote is
VERY important!
All ballots must be RECEIVED at the
County Election Dept BY 8 pm on May
5th. Don’t risk forgetting to mail your
ballot…vote as soon as you receive
your ballot and return it to the County.
Visit the Showcase Website
www.showcaseranchescsd.com
On the homepage you’ll find the date of
the next board meeting and what’s new
in our district. During April there will be
information on the Special Tax Election.
There are links that enable you to
contact the members of the Board by
email with any concerns. Other links
take you to the agendas, minutes and
the financials.
Feel free to make
comments or suggestions. We’d like to
make this a resource that will be useful
for our residents. Your Board wants
your input.