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Mountain View property owners are getting a different kind of ballot in their mailboxes this election season. Santa Clara County is looking to increase the annual assessment that property owners pay for services to protect the community from diseases spread by mosquitos and other wildlife.
The special assessment would boost funding for the county’s Mosquito and Vector Control District, which monitors and prevents the spread of diseases from vectors including mosquitos, ticks, flies and rodents. In recent years, the district has addressed public health risks like West Nile virus, dengue, Zika and yellow fever, which are all carried by mosquitos.
If approved by a simple majority, the new assessment would charge single-family homeowners $15.75 annually. That’s on top of two existing assessments, which date back to 1996 and 2005. In total, a single-family homeowner would now pay $30.65 annually to fund the vector control district.
Other property types would be charged different rates. For instance, condos would pay an added $9.45 annually, for a total yearly assessment of $20.42.
Unlike typical elections, only property owners are receiving ballots for this measure. That’s because it is considered a “benefit assessment,” which funds “specific programs and local services” that benefit property owners and is separate from property taxes, according to the district’s website. Each parcel of land is allowed one vote, and the votes will be weighted based on what the property owner would pay for the proposed assessment.
The vector control district covers the entirety of Santa Clara County and its employees conduct fieldwork, laboratory testing and public outreach. The district is overseen by the county Board of Supervisors, but it does not receive funding from the county’s general fund or other county sources, like a recent sales tax measure approved by voters, according to the district’s website.
“Every year, our team responds to more than 4,000 service requests from residents, and they are expecting this number to increase,” vector control district Manager Nayer Zahiri said at a March 18 press conference. “Our team works to prevent disease before they spread and put the community at risk.”
Without the added funding, the district is facing a $3 million annual budget shortfall, according to Taylor Kelly, the county’s scientific technical services manager.
“We have implemented numerous cost-saving measures to provide cost effective services, and while these efforts have helped reduce operational costs, funding remains insufficient,” Kelly said at the press conference. “Rising expenses have outpaced funding for over a decade and service requests from residents have increased.”
If voters approve the measure, the Board of Supervisors would then have the authority to levy the new fee annually until it “determines that the assessment is no longer necessary,” according to the district’s website. The supervisors would need to hold a hearing each year to continue the assessment, which they could choose to increase by the region’s inflation rate.
Property owners have until May 19 to submit their ballots, which need to be received by mail or hand-delivered by 10 a.m to the county Board of Supervisors Chambers, 70 W. Hedding St., San José. The Board of Supervisors will hold a public hearing the same day. The ballot results will be announced June 2. For more information, visit the district website.
Correction: A chart in the initial version of this article included incorrect annual assessment totals for certain property types. The 1996 assessment charged a flat rate per property type, rather than being based on the number of units or acreage. We regret the error.
There’s an apparent error in the cost figures for the old assessments relative to 5+ unit buildings. When you get over 10 units, it’s a LOT less per unit than what is shown.