LAKE COUNTY ? Property owners will decide later this month whether the services Lake County Vector Control District provides are worth paying for.
The district lost a fifth of its funding to the state”s Education Revenue Augmentation Fund and to redevelopment agencies in Lake County, Lakeport and Clearlake. That leaves the district operating on 80 percent of its normal revenue. To make up the difference, the district is proposing to charge owners an annual fee.
The ballots will be mailed Tuesday to all property owners in Lake County. Because property owners would pay the fee, only property owners will vote on the measure. The fee varies depending on the value and size of the property.
For example, the annual fee for a single-family residence on less than an acre of property would be $13.96. For mobile home parks, the fee would be $6.99 per quarter-acre for the first five acres, plus $6.99 for each additional acre. The fee for agricultural property would be 3 cents per acre, plus $13.96 if a single-family residence is on the parcel.
“This is perfect for the county because it”s not overpriced,” Board Trustee and Clearlake City Councilman Curt Giambruno said. “When it passes it will take a monkey off our back. We”re looking forward to this passing; it will be good for all concerned.”
Scott said all of the money from the fees would stay in Lake County, and cannot be directed to the state or agencies other than Vector Control.
“If we did nothing to replace funding the residents will see less services,” District Manager and Research Director Jamie Scott said.
Simply put, the district provides bug control throughout Lake County”s 1,256 square miles. Field employees respond to calls reporting mosquito problems and work with homeowners to reduce habitat for the bugs in swimming pools, rain gutters and other areas. The funding gap would mean slower response time, according to Scott.
“You don”t know what you”ve got ”til it”s gone,” Scott said.
One of the ways the district controls mosquitoes is by stocking county water bodies with mosquito fish. Fewer dollars may also mean fewer mosquito fish ? and more mosquitoes, according to Scott.
The district also monitors diseases carried by nuisance bugs, and provides information about how residents can control the bugs. An example is Lyme disease, which Scott said has been found in 3 to 5 percent of the western black-legged ticks tested in Lake County.
In addition, Scott said maintenance of facilities and equipment has taken a back burner, and the district is facing the possibility of leaving positions empty after employee relocations or retirements.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com, or call her directly at 263-5636, ext. 37.
