Full treatment won't be provided in newly added areas until November, when a new tax goes into effect.
By MOLLY MOORHEAD
Published August 2, 2003
Just about the time the cool weather arrives, the expanded Pasco Mosquito Control District will have the resources to fully serve all areas of the county.
In June, county commissioners approved an ordinance expanding the district to include previously uncovered parts of east and central Pasco.
Those joining the district will pay an extra .25-mill property tax, or 25 cents per $1,000 of assessed property. A person who owns a $100,000 house, minus a $25,000 homestead exemption, will pay $18.75 a year.
But the district won't start collecting that money until mid November, Mosquito Control Director Jim Robinson said.
Until then, he said, the new areas are receiving basic service, including truck spraying in spots where there have been complaints, surveillance traps and some aerial spraying, Robinson said.
"It's not fair to the residents that had been in the existing tax district to take those dollars to provide equal service," Robinson said.
Treatment in the new areas, which started in mid June, is being paid for with reserve funds.
Traps are running seven days a week to detect encephalitis and West Nile virus, mosquito-borne diseases that threaten animals and humans. That threat is, in part, what prompted the county to expand the district.
In Dade City, officials are keeping chemicals on hand in case they're needed during this transitional year, said Laura Beagles, assistant to the city manager. For special events, such as high school football games, the city can use its supplies to keep potential problems under control.
Zephyrhills City Manager Steve Spina said he hasn't heard of any complaints or problems so far this summer.
Once the tax dollars are available, Robinson said, the district will add treatment for larvae and immature mosquitoes in the water where mosquitoes breed.
And by adding staff, every call for service will get a response, Robinson said.
"That bit of personal service we're not able to offer in that area yet," he said.
