A county supervisor has asked for reconsideration of the
mosquito abatement tax increase due to questions whether the spike
may be higher than law allows.
HOLLISTER
A county supervisor has asked for reconsideration of the mosquito abatement tax increase due to questions whether the spike may be higher than law allows.
Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously passed a resolution raising the mosquito abatement district parcel tax 3.6 percent from $9.86 to $10.16.
San Benito County Supervisor Anthony Botelho said that the it is a “modest” increase, “but it’s the principle of the idea” due to a mandated cap of right around 3 percent. The county has a law in the books that says the increase cannot exceed that number.
“We made a mistake of what the cap was,” he said. “In light of that, what the consultant did was pick up on Consumer Price Index increases that we didn’t move ahead with in the past.”
After discussing the matter with Agricultural Commissioner Paul Matulich and Assistant County Administrative Officer Rich Inman, Botelho said, “I asked staff to bring back that item for reconsideration by the board.”
Inman said Botelho was concerned about the calculation of the fee.
The reason there was a need to increase mosquito abatement fees was because of “green pools on foreclosed homes,” Botelho said.
“People aren’t maintaining their property and (it’s causing a) tremendous public health concern.”
There is no way for the county to recover the costs of ridding properties of potential mosquito hatching grounds, and Botelho said homeowners should pick it up rather than taxpayers.
“We’re trying to deal with it through the established assessment,” Botelho said.
Botelho provided a solution to the resolution in dismissing the consultant, Fairfield-based SCI Consulting Group, which proposed the fees, and to take back the $17,000 and “float” the funds back into the budget.
The consultant was brought in to do an engineering assessment, which Botelho called a “glorified study,” which was needed to establish abatement fees. But now with the fees being established, the county can handle it, he said.
“Now that things are pretty well laid out, we can do the work in house to evaluate if our assessments are correct for abatement service,” Botelho said.
