MEEKS BAY, Calif. – Meeks Bay Fire has officially merged into the North Tahoe Fire Protection District (NFTPD) in an impressive bi-county annexation deal that is set to go into effect early next year. Longtime West Shore resident and who some call the “Mayor of Tahoma” Ed Miller worked with both the NTFPD as its public information officer (under Fire Chief Duane Whitelaw for 15 years) and Meeks Bay Fire, eventually becoming president of its board of directors. He’s been active with fire services in the North Tahoe area for the past 42 years and can retire now that the annexation is final.    

He calls NTFPD annexing Meeks Bay Fire “a functional consolidation.”  

“It saves a lot on an economy of scale; this is now one district without two separate budgets having to be maintained and it serves North Lake and all of the West Shore,” Miller says.  

Meeks Bay Fire has had a contract with NTFPD for the last decade and although it’s remained an independent district, firefighters from NTFPD have been the ones responding to calls. Geographically it makes more sense for NTFPD to take in Meeks Bay Fire, considering West Shore residents count on the services from the North Shore quite often.  

“We’ve been called the tail of the dog, being north of Emerald Bay,” Miller adds. He says that El Dorado County Supervisor Brooke Laine was instrumental in helping this consolidation happen, and she also is aware of how this annexation benefits the entire West Shore. Laine reiterates that when Emerald Bay closes in the winter it divides the West Shore communities, with Meeks Bay basically being cut off from the rest of El Dorado County.  

Laine was elected to the El Dorado County District V seat in January 2023, which encompasses communities from Tahoma down through South Shore and along Highway 50 to Pollock Pines. When she was elected, Laine put together a District V advisory council and started hosting quarterly in-person and online meetings with representatives from all 11 communities within District V attending.  

“We get on a Zoom call every three months to talk about what is going on in our communities, and everyone gets to know each other,” Laine says. She explains that the meetings are casual and create good dialogue, and everyone gets a good picture of what’s going on in the entire district. These meetings allow everyone to be in lockstep when issues come up, and Laine can take what she learns from those meetings and communicate it back to the other supervisors. Miller has attended the meetings representing Tahoma, and filed for reelection for the Meeks Bay Fire board this year in case the annexation didn’t go through. But now that it has, he can retire. 

“I’m very confident in North Tahoe Fire in serving Meeks Bay. There will be no change operationally, both stations will remain open. It’ll be seamless; I just won’t be the one speaking up at meetings anymore,” he says.   

“To make a bi-county deal like this go through is a huge success; it’s not like when Tahoe City and Kings Beach (North Tahoe Fire) merged because they were both in Placer County,” Miller says.  

“The Meeks Bay merger with North Tahoe Fire is so extraordinary because it’s a merger of two different counties. But it makes sense because of Meeks Bay’s proximity to Emerald Bay,” Laine reiterates.  

“It was such a natural annexation because of how far apart these two counties are. Bringing the entities together was complicated but I’m honored to be a part of it. Many times in a merger, each entity is out for their own interests but in this case both counties came together to reach a consensus that would benefit all,” she adds. Laine expressed being proud of El Dorado County staff for working through issues such as retirements and bringing money in, but it was figured out and “now we’re serving the needs of Meeks Bay in a very substantial way,” she says.  

“And kudos to Placer County for approving the [Benefits Assessment Tax] initiative. Meeks Bay residents agreed on the amount they normally pay, but it was the Placer taxpayers’ insistence to bring that amount down,” Laine adds.  

Miller confirms that this doesn’t change the ad valorum property tax but residents in both counties pay a benefits assessment tax. What Placer County and El Dorado County residents pay for fire protection will now be equalized, meaning Meeks Bay residents will now pay about $30 less per year by being annexed into NTFPD. 

“[NTFPD] Chief Steve Leighton has put in countless hours in getting this accomplished, more than any of us ever expected. I have so much appreciation to him, my board, the North Tahoe Fire board, and staff for making this happen. 

“This is very close to my heart. I love serving the district and am very proud of the personal service that the fire district provides to the people of the West Shore,” Miller says.  

“It was an extraordinary process but at the end of the day all we wanted was what was best for everyone and not be territorial. It was all the right people at all the right times to make this work, and hopefully this will set a model [for other Lake Tahoe communities] to follow going forward,” Laine adds.  

Two members of Meeks Bay fire board, Korie Kromydas and Louie Fielding, will be joining the NTFPD board.