Hollister
– The San Benito County Board of Supervisors approved a new fee
Tuesday to fund the county’s mosquito abatement program.
Hollister – The San Benito County Board of Supervisors approved a new fee Tuesday to fund the county’s mosquito abatement program.
Landowners in populated county areas – including Hollister, San Juan Bautista, Tres Pinos and Paicines – must now pay an extra $9.60 per year in property taxes. The Board of Supervisors can vote to increase that fee by up to 3 percent each year.
Program advocates have said mosquito abatement is needed to reduce health risks, including West Nile virus, encephalitis and malaria. Supervisor Don Marcus said such fees are common throughout California.
“The powers that be recognized that there’s a need,” he said.
A woman died of West Nile virus in Kern County on July 13, according to the California Department of Public Health. No human cases have been reported in San Benito County, but the virus has been found in animals.
County Clerk Joe Paul Gonzalez said 3,798 valid ballots were cast during the mail-in election, which ended on June 26. Votes were weighted based on how much money a landowner would have to pay. Sixty-three percent of weighted votes were in support of the fee, while 37 percent were opposed.
At past meetings, supervisors have said they wanted to give landowners a chance to weigh-in on the issue, and Supervisor Anthony Botelho said Tuesday that voters made it clear they support the fee.
“We clearly won this trust,” Botelho said.
But Hollister resident Marvin Jones, who chairs the San Benito County Republican Party, said he isn’t sure the election reflects the will of the people.
“Did the people really speak?” he said.
Jones said many land-owning developers will need county approval in the future, and were therefore unlikely to vote against the county’s plans. He also noted that government agencies, including the county and the cities of Hollister and San Juan Bautista, cast ballots favoring the fee.
The election and the fee are legal, Jones acknowledged.
“But morally, ethically, it’s questionable,” he said.
If San Benito County and the City of Hollister had not cast ballots in the election, the abatement fee would have been approved 59 percent to 41 percent, according to a county staff report.
The mosquito abatement program is estimated to cost around $120,000 per year. County Agricultural Commissioner Paul Matulich has said previous abatement programs were funded by state grants.
Supervisor Jaime De La Cruz voted against the fee. De La Cruz said he’s in favor of mosquito abatement but had promised voters he would not raise property taxes.
