Marin-Sonoma Mosquito and Vector Control District Assessment Increase Question (April 2015)

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Ballots for a Marin-Sonoma Mosquito and Vector Control District Assessment Increase Question were mailed to property owners in the Marin-Sonoma Mosquito and Vector Control District (MSMVCD) during the last week of February 2015. Ballots were due back by April 15, 2015. The measure was defeated.

This measure was designed to authorize the district to impose an additional assessment for property within the district. The amount of the annual fee would have depended on the property type. It would have included a fee of $12.86 per year for the average single-family home, $7.70 for a condo and $.03/acre per year for open space. These fees would have been in addition to the flat $12-per-year assessment in effect prior to April 2015. The assessment could have also been increased according to the annual Consumer Price Index, capped at a maximum of 5 percent per year. It was estimated the tax would have produced about $3,592,000 in revenue in the first year of enactment.

Supporters argued the assessment would have allowed the mosquito district to continue to provide essential services. Opponents argued that much of the revenue would have been used to pay down the district's pension debt, rather than for the purpose of providing taxpayers with promised services.

Votes based on property ownership

Multiple votes for some

The question was sent to about 213,500 property owners within the district, who together own about 290,000 parcels. The district contracted the balloting work out to Gilardi & Co., LLC, a firm based in San Rafael. The firm charged the district $415,000 for helping to administer the election. Special ballots were printed that allowed votes to be weighted according to property owned.

Government votes

Moreover, the law governing this type of election, Proposition 218 approved in 1996, allows government agencies to have their own votes since voting is based on property ownership. In this case, the governments of Marin County and Sonoma County each got 6,211 votes, and the 20 incorporated cities spanning the district got a combined total of 12,840 votes. Even the state and federal governments were given votes, 9,167 ballots and 9,716 ballots respectively.

Election results

With this sort of election for property owners, votes are weighted according to the asset value represented by the votes. Thus, although a majority of votes were in favor of the tax, the weighted results showed that a majority of asset value represented by the votes was on the side of rejecting the tax.

d Marin-Sonoma Mosquito and Vector District tax
	Yes		No
	Votes	%	Votes	%
Votes:	35,308	53%	31,358	47%
Weighted:	$558,018	48.75%	$586,718	51.25%

Election results from Marin-Sonoma Mosquito and Vector Control District

Support

Supporters

The district claimed it needed additional revenue to continue dealing with the pest problems in both counties, especially the continued problem with mosquitoes. District officials claimed that without this increase in revenue, the district would be operating under a deficit and would quickly burn though reserves.

Arguments in favor

The district also claimed that it had far less money in its reserves than the $10 million proposed by critics of the tax increase.

The district gave the following answer to the question "Why is this measure needed?"

“

The District’s source of funding is from local property taxes and from assessments. The cost of providing mosquito and vector control services is rising, particularly because of our focus on using the most environmentally sound techniques and products. The replacement and repair of equipment has been delayed in many cases over the past few years due to budget constraints, and additional funding will allow the District to begin the process of catching up with those needs. Also, newly restored wetlands in our communities provide much needed habitat for wildlife, but also provide breeding habitat for mosquitoes. A new stable source of funding will allow the District to continue and enhance control of mosquitoes and consult on other vectors, providing vector identification, and rapid, cost-effective testing for existing and emerging vectors and diseases in Marin and Sonoma Counties. Property owners in many other populated areas of the State have approved similar ballot measures to improve their local mosquito and disease control services.However, if this proposed assessment is not approved, the District may have to reduce both current and future service levels.

”

Editorials

• The editorial board of the Marin Independent Journal endorsed a "yes" vote on this measure, but it did so with reservations. An excerpt of the editorial is below:

“	The Marin/Sonoma Mosquito and Vector Control District was formed to clean up a mess. Marin was growing, more houses were being built and more people were being bothered by mosquitoes, which were known carriers of serious diseases. One hundred years later, the district has proven it can do a good job controlling mosquitoes, but it has created a new mess, a financial and political one. [...] Opposition to the tax measure has come from critics of public employee pensions. Their beef is fair. The district, at public expense, mailed out ballots and a color brochure explaining what the agency does and why the tax is needed. Unlike a regular ballot, no space was provided for an opposition statement, even from the few board members who voted against the measure. [...] The measure has two things going for it: It’s only $12, and the district does a good job. [...] Politically, this measure is a mess. But the fee, for most ratepayers, is only $12.86, a small sum to pay to combat the spread of West Nile Virus, other diseases and to protect the public health. With reservations, the IJ supports the proposed mosquito fee.	”
—Marin Independent Journal editorial board

Opposition

Opponents

A group called Citizens for Sustainable Pension Plans recommended a "no" vote on this measure.

Arguments against

Gary Kozel, a homeowner in Kenwood, complained that he did not receive a ballot in the mail and that officials told him it was too late to issue one when he called the district. He insisted that he and his wife would have voted "no" on the question. He stated, "We just don’t like the way in which this entire process has been managed. It appears a good portion of the funding would go toward pension obligations, and we have a real issue with that.”

Paul Premo, a member of Citizens for Sustainable Pension Plans, said that most of the revenue from the measure would have likely been used to pay down the district's over $12 million in pension and retirement fund debt. Premo wrote:

“

Citizens for Sustainable Pension Plans, of which I am a core member, recommends a “no” vote on the Marin-Sonoma County Mosquito and Vector Control District’s tax increase ballot. [...] No process for periodic review and justification, nor sunset date is mentioned. The district has an annual budget of approximately $8 million and has reserves of about $10 million. The district has reserves that will last about six years. Apart from the questions of why is the tax necessary at this time and why hasn’t the district allowed for public hearings prior to the time by which voters’ ballots must be filed, I note that the district has serious unfunded retiree pension and medical care benefit liabilities, plus rising needs to fund those shortfalls absent benefit reductions. I conclude that the “need” for the tax likely is not merely for the purposes quoted above, but also because the promises it has made for future retiree benefits cannot be met absent significant funding of those liabilities. In short, this is another example of retiree benefits crowding out provision of basic services.

”

Premo recommended a more public discussion of the district's funding issue and an investigation into the possibility of amending and decreasing pension benefits to a sustainable level before any further assessment is approved.

See also

• Marin County, California ballot measures
• Sonoma County, California ballot measures
• District tax on the ballot

External links

Suggest a link

• Marin-Sonoma Mosquito and Vector Control District website

Additional reading

• Mill Valley Herald, "Opposition to mosquito district tax grows," April 1, 2015