mosquito board - can someone explain to me?

[Abby Prentiss]

I have always been puzzled why there are elections for this, a board, etc. Is this bureaucracy? Old boy network?


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From the sun:

During a monthly meeting for the South Walton Mosquito Control Board in June, Commissioner John Magee took a stand.

With the other two commissioners, Bob Hudson and Jim Crawford, motioning to have former director of SWMCD Stephen Sickerman removed from his post, Magee said no.

“That’s just not the way I do business,” he said during an interview with the Sun. “It was definitely a surprise.”

When contacted by The Sun, Sickerman made few comments on his termination, but he did acknowledge the move was a surprise to him as well.

Hudson was quoted in an article in the DeFuniak Herald saying, “I have worked with Stephen over the years and I think my role as a commissioner is to have a person as a director who can lead. It is my feeling he is not the right person.”

So with two out of three getting the majority, Sickerman was released and granted 60-day salary and benefit package.

Magee said that although he was against the decision and did not feel as if there was a valid reason to terminate Sickerman, he did say the board is receiving a number of qualified candidates to fill the open position.

“We are receiving a lot of really great applicants,” he said. "We are progressively pursuing filling the position, and there's not reason for us not to have it filled within the next few months."

 

[Bob Wells]

How would you prefer the taxpayer fill those slots? They are a taxing authority so there has to be elected officials to oversee it.

 

[Kurt]

How would you prefer the taxpayer fill those slots? They are a taxing authority so there has to be elected officials to oversee it.

I don't understand either, or the history that caused an "authority" to be set up. It's decades old isn't it? Why is it not a county service under public works or its own department?

 

[Bob Hudson]

South Walton County Mosquito Control District is an Independent Special Taxing District. It was established on May 26, 1964 by a referendum of the voters in South Walton for the sole purpose of controlling disease-bearing arthropods and nuisance insects to improve the quality of life in South Walton County.

No authority provided the service prior to that time. The SWCMCD also maintains 46 mosquito control ditches that reduce standing water by draining it to the Bay thereby reducing the breeding source for mosquitos. SWCMCD has a millage rate of 11.38 cents per thousand dollars of taxable value on property. A home with a taxable value of $200,000 would pay $22.76 for the services provided.

There is a separate North Walton Mosquito District that also has taxing authority. Their millage rate is .4912 cents per thousand dollars of taxable value. A home in the North Walton Mosquito District with a taxable value of $200,000 would pay $98.24 per year for the services provided.

The South Walton Fire District was created for similar reasons and in the same referendum manner.

To put it simply - both were created by the residents of South Walton to improve quality of life.

 

[Teresa]

Thanks Bob. However, the question remains..

WHY?

Can't our county provide mosquito control services or is there some reason a separate taxing unit needs to exist.

Abby - I have always had the same question. Maybe its a county govt thing.

 

[Bob Hudson]

All Mosquito Control in Florida falls under the State Department of Agriculture. In Florida there are what are called "Dependent Districts" (North Walton is a dependent district) and "Independent Districts" (South Walton Mosquito is a independent district). Originally all Mosquito Districts were dependent districts but over time the coastal communities wanted to place more emphasis on the control of mosquitoes for both health and economic reasons. If you talk to people that lived here prior to the creation of SWCMCD they will tell you that the area was almost uninhabitable due to the 'squitos'. The boom in this area only began after the independent district was created when they originally dug the 46 control ditches I mentioned in my previous post. ( We call them control ditches but in reality they are drainage ditches of a particular design ).

It is my understanding that a group of residents petitioned the County to hold a referendum to create a "independent district" as the service provided by the county at that time was not meeting the areas needs.

A referendum was held and the district was created in 1964.

The first order of business was the construction of the ditches. Special Districts have "taxing authority" and according to state statute their control must be in the hands of elected officials that answer to the constituents within their defined boundaries. ( There are 26 Special Districts in Florida ).

Mosquito control in "coastal areas" is a totally different creature than inland areas and require a intergrated approach to meet the mission. The last thing we do is spray. Source reduction is the first step.

North Walton also has "taxing authority" but any millage rate must be approved by the County Commission. Those that live "north" of the Bay have a seperate line on their tax bill set by the County but approved by the Department of Agriculture to fund their operations. That line does not appear on property south of the Bay - a line appears for SWCMCD. NWMCD's rate is almost 5 times higher than SWMCD.

Could it be done differently ?

Yes If enough signatures were collected and presented to the County Commission to hold a referendum to eliminate the Independent District and they were willing to assume the responsibility of operation in the South they could call for a referendum.

Short version:

Why - because the residents that lived here in 1964 were dissatisfied with the service provided in the South by the County and were willing to pay to have it improve. The same reason South Walton Fire District was created

 

[Bob Hudson]

This article might shed some light on the history of Florida Mosquito control.

We are currently experiencing high counts of Floodwater mosquitoes here. The recent rain has produce a hugh hatch.

You can expect to see our trucks regularly coming through your neighborhood.

http://finance.townhall.com/news/us...udget_cuts,_mosquito_burst_create_itchy_issue

 

[Teresa]

This article might shed some light on the history of Florida Mosquito control.

We are currently experiencing high counts of Floodwater mosquitoes here. The recent rain has produce a hugh hatch.

You can expect to see our trucks regularly coming through your neighborhood.

http://finance.townhall.com/news/us...udget_cuts,_mosquito_burst_create_itchy_issue

Thanks Bob. Very interesting to consider how important mosquito control is in our state, and the history. I'm not sure about the safety of mosquito control/pesticides but I am grateful nonetheless.

 

[Kurt]

Thanks Bob!

 

[Jdarg]

So we have a South Walton Fire District, a South Walton Mosquito district- is it possible to have a South Walton School District?