An elevator at El Dorado County offices in South Lake Tahoe was shut down because no one paid the bill to keep it running.

“The elevator was shutdown June 13 for a day while invoices for permits from 2010 and 2011 were corrected,” Judi McCallum, who is Supervisor Norma Santiago’s assistant, told Lake Tahoe News.

An employee of the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health showed up to turn off the elevator at the Takela Avenue office.

Mike Applegarth, principal analyst with the county, said the county paid its bills in 2010 and 2011, but did so late. The shutdown was for not paying the late fees.

According to Applegarth, the invoices did not get paid because they were not going to the correct location. This in part had to do with the county reorganizing its departments.

A county employee paid the $460.90 penalty to get the elevator running again, which allowed the person on the top floor in a wheelchair the ability to leave the building.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report