Editorial Board: Anastasia Mosquito Control Board

Historic City News is ready to start announcing our recommendations in selected local elections of interest to St Augustine and St Johns County voters. We find our first recommendation to be newsworthy for a couple of reasons.

First, this year’s ad valorem tax bill for mosquito control will reflect poor planning decisions, sprung on the taxpayers without warning, resulting in an approved budget increase of about $2.2 million, the majority of which is going to cover the cost to build a new facility on other property the taxing authority owns north of town.

Next, mosquito control already has accumulated about a $4 million surplus. The new facility is supposed to cost only $3.6 million to build — or at least that’s what we’re being told. Is there some other major spending adventure afoot that outsiders don’t know about yet?

The meetings of this board play like an episode of Jerry Springer. Historic City News stopped reporting on them years ago when the tempers of the attendees and board members seemed hopelessly locked at a fevered pitch. I don’t want to have to carry my gun to feel safe in a public meeting, so I personally won’t attend. I also don’t care for petty backstabbing and five commissioners with five separate agendas.

Why can’t the other tax districts become as independent as the St Augustine Airport Authority?

The next best thing to put the train back on the right track, is to send Gary Howell, an active member of St Johns County’s Republican Party and a fiscal conservative, some help. We think that this board could benefit from a dose of conservative leadership. If you can’t get your priorities in place in six or eight years, its one of two things — the message or the messenger.

So, here’s the showstopper. Either The Record has begun taking to heart the fiscal conservative message we have been sending all these years, or someone in the editorial department found Margo’s hidden bottle of cooking sherry. Either way is fine by us; but, we believe Anastasia Mosquito Control District needs new faces.

We also recommend Mara for Anastasia Mosquito Control Seat 2 and George for Seat 4.