- November 23, 2024
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The East Flagler Mosquito Control District has helped protect locals from mosquitos — and the diseases they carry — since 1952. But proposed state bills targeting unnecessary special districts could endanger the East Flagler Mosquito Control District, one of the district’s commissioners warned during a Jan. 8 Flagler County Commission meeting.
Under House Bill 7013, filed Dec. 13 by the Florida House Local Administration, Federal Affairs & Special Districts Subcommittee, any independent special district created before 2018 that can levy property taxes must conduct a citizen referendum in conjunction with the Nov. 3, 2026, general election, seeking voters’ approval to continue its existence. A companion Senate bill (SB 1058) filed by Sen. Travis Hutson on Dec. 21 has matching language requiring special districts to be approved in voter referendums.
I don't think all of the consequences of forcing a dissolution vote every 10 years was thought of, and I think that it's too much of a danger to leave this in the hands of the public.”
— MIKE MARTIN, commissioner, East Flagler Mosquito Control District
Under the proposed legislation, if a majority of voters vote in favor of a special district, the district would continue for 10 years before it must again seek voter approval through another ballot referendum. The referendums would continue every decade until voters vote to dissolve the district.
East Flagler Mosquito Control District Commissioner Mike Martin began his remarks at the Jan. 8 Flagler County Commission meeting by endorsing the goal of House Bill 7013, saying he was sure that many special taxing districts have outlived their usefulness.
“I don't believe in taking taxpayers’ money if it's not necessary,” he said. “… Unfortunately, mosquito control districts are getting caught up with this bill. Mosquito control in Florida is absolutely necessary for any of us who live here. You cannot do without mosquito control. And it's not even a question of just being a nuisance or being irritating. Mosquitoes carry life-threatening diseases.”
He listed a few: dengue fever, West Nile virus, Zika virus, chikungunya, malaria, yellow fever, human and canine heartworm and Eastern equine encephalitis.
Mosquito control districts are the reason we don’t have more of those in Florida, he said.
If voters voted not to reauthorize the East Flagler Mosquito Control District, he said, “Somebody then will have to step in and pick up the slack.”
That would likely fall to the Flagler County government or the city of Palm Coast government. But there’s a timeline problem: The ballot referendum would take place in November, but local governments set their coming year's fiscal budgets earlier, in September.
I don't believe this should be left up to the voters. I believe it should be left open to the creating body."
— MIKE MARTIN, commissioner, East Flagler Mosquito Control District
That would leave the county and city government with a conundrum: Should they budget extra money in case they have to take over mosquito control work? Or should they not budget extra, at the risk that they’ll be caught short if voters do dissolve the Mosquito Control District?
“It's just not a good idea to put something that's necessary for protecting the health of people in Flagler County, in any Florida county, to leave it up in the air,” Martin said.
Martin said that according to Florida Department of Health statistics, 73% of mosquito-borne diseases in Florida from 2019 to 2023 have occurred in counties in which the county government or city government manages mosquito control.
Independent mosquito control districts, he said, have an advantage: They can set their property tax rates to the level necessary to protect citizens' health, rather than relying on funding from the county government.
For example, he said, this past October, the East Flagler Mosquito Control District signed a contract for a loan to buy a new helicopter. If mosquito control operated through the county government, he said, it would still likely be operating with a helicopter that’s 19 years old and doesn’t have the range to serve the new regions the district began serving this year.
And if mosquito control districts rely on citizen approval every 10 years, he said, it would be tough to get longterm loans and harder to hire staff as each referendum date approaches, since employees would fear losing their jobs if voters vote to dissolve the district.
“It's something I think that the … committee that passed this bill really didn't look into the consequences,” Martin said.
Martin asked county commissioners and other listeners to contact Speaker of the House Paul Renner and ask him to support modifying the bill to allow whichever government body created a special district to determine whether or not to place that special district on the ballot every 10 years.
“I do not believe this should be left up to the voters,” Martin said. “I think this is basically a home rule issue, that you should not face and unwanted and unnecessary financial burden of trying to take over mosquito control if you believe that what we're doing is a good job.”
County Commissioner Andy Dance suggested that the commission ask its lobbyists to provide commissioners with more information on the legislation.
"We can always address it in Tallahassee if everybody agrees, because I think it needs some attention," Dance said.
County Commissioner Leann Pennington asked Martin and the Mosquito Control District board to provide the commission with a set of talking points so the commission can consider drafting and approving a one-page statement to legislators on the district's behalf.
