Chief Administrative Office

Welcome from Tiffany Schmid, El Dorado County Chief Administrative Officer

Welcome to El Dorado County, where we offer an exceptional quality of life with a strong sense of community, rural character, managed growth, and opportunity for all.

Founded in 1850 as the home of the Gold Rush, El Dorado County’s population is just over 200,000 citizens and has close to 1900 government staff who bring innovation, pride, consideration for our rich history, public safety and well-being, and a commitment to unparalleled service to the people we serve.

The County government serves the unincorporated portion of El Dorado County through a County Charter structure. We have seven elected officials and 16 appointed department heads. The Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), appointed by the five-member Board of Supervisors, is responsible for the administration of County affairs as prescribed in the County Charter, formal Board actions, County ordinance, and State law and mandates. The CAO also coordinates the work of all offices and departments, identifying ways to achieve efficiency and economy across all County operations, and recommends and administers the County budget.

Strategic Plan

The County’s Strategic Plan is a living document that is updated every five years to reflect the current goals, objectives and priorities identified by the Board of Supervisors, Department directors, and the public.

Updated in 2023, the current Strategic Plan identifies five critical areas: Safe & Healthy Communities, Public Infrastructure, Workforce Excellence, Thriving Economy, and Strategic Innovation. Click here to visit the El Dorado County Strategic Plan.

Visit the El Dorado County Strategic Plan site.

County Budget

The County’s Fiscal Year runs from July 1-June 30th. State law requires formal adoption of our budget no later than October 2nd of each year. After multiple Board of Supervisors meetings and direction, along with input from the public, the CAO presents a Recommended Budget in the spring and an Adopted Budget in the fall for Board approval. Through various means, the Budget is provided to the public for transparency of the County’s revenues, expenditures, and contingency accounts.

Click here to see the current year budget documents and a link to prior years’ budgets and accompanying documents.

Chief Administrative Office Divisions

The Chief Administrative Office includes several divisions that impact department finances and County contracts and procurement, County facilities, emergency medical services, emergency preparedness, parks, and wildfire preparedness and resilience. You can learn more about these divisions by clicking the links below.

Emergency Medical Services
Emergency Preparedness and Response
Office of Wildfire Preparedness and Resilience
Parks & Trails