Announcing that the need for mosquito, vector and disease-control services has increased in recent years as new mosquito species have appeared locally, city officials announced last week that ballots will be mailed to allow property owners to decide if public health services should be provided by the Vector Control Program (VCP) in the area of the city defined in the outlined area of the map (pictured).
These ballots will only be sent to property owners with parcels in the unassessed area, as indicated by the map’s shaded areas, officials said.
Officials added that the prevalence of infected mosquitos has resulted in emerging diseases. In addition, the costs of controlling West Nile Virus and other new vectors and diseases has also increased. An assessment district is being proposed to address the demand for increased services.
The proposed assessment rate for most single-family homes would be $8.21 per year. Residential property types that are not single-family homes will be assessed according to the number of units and parcel size.
Commercial, industrial and agricultural properties will be assessed by the parcel size and property type. The proposed assessment would raise approximately $753,474 for Fiscal Year 2019-2020 to be used exclusively for VCP activities.
The following services would be supported by the proposed assessment district:
Control of mosquitoes and other disease-carrying vectors.
Control of emerging invasive species, such as Aedes Aegypti (Yellow Fever mosquito) and Aedes Albopictus (Asian Tiger mosquito) that can carry West Nile Virus, Zika, Dengue and Chikungunya.
Surveillance of rodents, fleas, Africanized Honey Bees and other vectors and the diseases they carry.
Year-round testing and early detection of emerging diseases, such as West Nile Virus, Encephalitis, Malaria, Hantavirus, Typhus or Plague.
Response to any disease outbreaks from mosquitoes, rodents and fleas.
Property owners in the areas indicated should watch for their mailed ballots in late May. All ballots must be received by the City Clerk by the end of the public hearing scheduled for July 2 at the Long Beach City Council meeting.
Property owners seeking additional information on the mosquito, vector and disease-control measure– including those who believe they should have received a ballot but did not– can contact the Long Beach Health Department’s Mosquito and Vector Control Program at (562) 570-4129 or at longbeach.gov/health.