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The June 2 statewide primary may be approaching in just a couple of weeks, but it isn’t the only upcoming election that local voters have a chance to weigh in on. Santa Clara County property owners have also received ballots for a separate election on whether to increase the annual assessment that they pay for mosquito and other vector control services.
While that vote has gotten much less attention, it’s coming up even more quickly than the statewide primary, with mosquito ballots due back Tuesday, May 19.
The Santa Clara County Mosquito and Vector Control District is looking to charge single family homeowners an additional $15.75 per year to address a widening budget deficit. The added funding would help maintain mosquito monitoring, disease testing, inspections and other vector control services.
Combined with existing assessments approved in 1996 and 2005, single family homeowners would now pay $30.86 annually. Other property types, including condos, apartment buildings, offices and commercial spaces, would be charged different rates.
County officials warn that for a ballot to be counted, it must be received – not just postmarked – before the close of the public input portion of a hearing that the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors will be holding Tuesday. That hearing is set to start at 10 a.m.
If approved, the new assessment would generate about $8.5 million annually for the Santa Clara County Mosquito and Vector Control District, according to a county report. The district monitors and controls mosquitoes, ticks, fleas, flies, rodents and some wildlife that can spread disease.
Jeremy Shannon, assistant manager for the district, said the agency has been operating at a deficit for several years and has relied on reserve funds to cover costs. The proposed $15.75 annual increase was calculated to close that deficit and stabilize its finances long term.
“This is the only mechanism we have to generate funds and revenues to support our services,” Shannon said.
The district does not receive money from the county general fund, sales tax revenue, general property tax revenue or state or federal funding, Shannon said. Its current funding comes from the 1996 and 2005 property assessments.
Financial projections show the added assessment would keep the district in a stable financial position through at least 2043, Shannon said. He added that the district’s existing funding structure has not kept pace with inflation. The 1996 assessment is set at $5.08 per single-family household and cannot increase, while the 2005 assessment can rise by no more than 3% annually.
“That also does not necessarily keep up, especially with the crazy inflation we’ve had the last couple years,” Shannon said.
The county Board of Supervisors voted last month to increase the 2005 assessment by 2.18%, which works out to a 21 cent increase for single family homeowners, from $9.82 to $10.03. That increase will take effect in July, which is also when the new $15.75 would begin, if passed by voters.
Unlike a regular election, the measure is considered a “benefit assessment” under Proposition 218, which means that only property owners get to vote and each ballot is weighted based on the amount the property owner would pay under the proposed assessment, according to the county.
The vector control district serves all of Santa Clara County, including Mountain View, Palo Alto, Los Altos, Sunnyvale, San Jose and unincorporated areas. Its services include mosquito surveillance, disease testing, public inspections, rodent inspections, dead bird testing, mosquito alerts and educational presentations.
Without new funding, the district says it may need to cut services by as much as 30%, according to the county. Those reductions would affect staffing, service requests and disease surveillance, Shannon said.
For a mailed-in ballot to count, the county needs to receive it by Tuesday. The other option, for property owners who have not yet returned their ballots, is to hand-deliver them to the Board of Supervisors chambers at 70 W. Hedding St., San Jose, before the close of public input at the May 19 meeting.
