Orange County Register

(New addendum from the district below)

How much representative democracy is required to battle rats, ticks, fire ants and West Nile virus?

The Orange County Vector Control District may soon find out.

“There’s a group of us who want to have a revolt,” said Wendy Leece, councilwoman from Costa Mesa (who is that city’s representative on Vector Control’s board).

It must have made sense to have a completely separate government worrying about killing mosquitoes back in 1947, when the district was born (and Harry Truman was president).

But does it make sense in 2009? Does Orange County need a completely independent $10.9 million government, with a 35-member board, to plot strategy in the war against vector-borne disease?

It costs $3,500 per month just to pay meeting fees to those 35 board members.

We’re not talking chump change here: 

• The district expects revenue of $10.9 million this year, from property taxes and assessments.
• It plans to spend about $9 million to abate pests.
• It has reserves of $11 million - meaning it could operate for a full year without taking in another penny if it had to. (We at The Watchdog call that “cushy;” the district calls it “responsible.)

District Manager Gerard Goedhart earns a base salary of $146,000, with a benefits package worth $52,766, bringing total compensation to $198,766 (about the same as county supervisors, and less than all but one county department head, according to the district’s own accounting*). Goedhart oversees about 54 employees.

Supervisor John Moorlach, the county’s new rep on the Vector Control board, said he’s concerned about duplication of effort. “Vector Control has a lab, the (county) Health Care Agency has a lab, the (county) Agricultural Commissioner has a lab,” Moorlach said. “It’s always healthy to take a hard look at these things once in a while.”

This calm belies the panic Moorlach unleashed last month when he asked the county’s lawyers for a “white paper” detailing what a merger of Vector Control with the county’s Agricultural Commissioner might entail. Goedhart whipped up a report quoting the governmental body in charge of consolidating other governmental bodies as saying, “The Orange County Vector Control District is the only public agency that provides mosquito and vector control services. As such, there is no possibility of merging or reorganizing the district with any other public entity.”

Well, actually, the county health department used to do fly and rat control, while Vector Control - then called the Orange County Mosquito Abatement District - just worried about, you know, mosquitoes. In the 1970s, county supervisors decided that the mosquito district should assume responsibility for all pests. That’s when fly and rat control - once part of the Orange County Health Department’s purview - became part of the mosquito district’s purview. It’s also when the mosquito disctrict’s name was changed to the Darth Vader-esque ”Vector Control District,” according to the district’s web site.

In his Feb. 19 report, Vector Control’s Goedhart worries about what would happen if the county - currently facing an $86 million budget shortfall - takes over. The county could increase assessments and siphon money off to other, dire, needs. “There is a very real concern that the takeover of the vector control services by the county would result in a reduction of services in light of the county’s financial crisis,” he wrote.

Cities would also lose their representatives on the board - and who doesn’t want a direct say in mosquito abatement? - and Vector Control would become less transparent, Goedhart says. County workers also get more generous retirement packages than district workers, which would increase retirement costs.

“We’re just concerned about the level of service that will be left behind if we are swallowed up,” said Mike Hearst, Vector Control spokesman.

When the Vector Control board meets today, it will see this PowerPoint presentation on WhitePaperGate(merger-presentation-3_19_09), detailing how Moorlach has not discussed his directive with Vector Control staff, and arguing for independence.

“We’re not concerned about the study per se, but the process, and lack of communication between Supervisor Moorlach and the district,” said Goedhart in a voicemail. “The study does not bother us at all.” 

Moorlach’s office says it’s just patiently waiting for said white paper, and then it will have something to discuss. Moorlach won’t be at today’s meeting, due to a previously planned trip.

Robert Ming, Laguna Niguel’s mayor and its new rep on the vector board, is keeping a watchful eye. “They are very serious about doing the best possible job they can at what they do, but the bigger question to me is whether they’re doing the right things,” Ming said. “That’s what I think we need to look at some more, and where we might be able to save some money.”

We at The Watchdog, meanwhile, will continue to pursue the rodents that our cat, Boots, hides under the bed.

FROM DISTRICT SPOKESMAN MIKE HEARST:

• The District has responsible reserves; I would hardly use the word “cushy”. As of the 2008-09 budget, we have put aside $1 million so far in a Facilities Improvement Fund, Close to $2 million to cover the growing retirement liability resulting from the financial crisis we are all aware of. (Our plan is 2%, I don’t know what those at 2.7% or 3% are going to do). We have a Emergency Vector Control Fund with $1 million which has drawn on a few times since the arrival of West Nile Virus. The District has anticipated the future costs of medical coverage for retirees and funded that liability with over $1.6 million. We have set aside money for equipment replacement and another for vehicle replacement with a combined total .of $1.5. These are static reserves; they are evaluated every year during the development of the District budget and 5 year plan. If they need adjustment they are adjusted. The major part of the reserve is the Operating Reserve, this is needed for cash flow, the District receives funds twice a year when property taxes are distributed, this fund is at times, as high a 35% and as low as 5% of the annual operating costs of the District. I know it is an unusual practice but the OCVCD has set aside money for known future liabilities as well as planned growth.
• The average base salary for a (county) Department head is $193, 398 with a benefits package that is estimated to equal to 50% of base salary, in fact there is only one department head that doesn’t make more that the OCVCD District Manager. I have attached a spread sheet containing the comparison:

*

Title                                                    Yearly
Director of Public Works/Chief Engineer         $223,104
Director of Adult and Employee Services         $223,104
Director of Agency Administration                  $223,104
Director of Agency Financial Assistance         $223,104
Director of Children and Family Services         $223,104
Director, Community Services                         $130,392
Director of Housing and Redevelopment         $223,104
Director of Internal Audit                                $164,112
Director of Medical Services                            $223,104
Director of Mental Health                                $223,104
Director of Planning and Development           $147,828
Director of Public Health                                $223,104
Director of Dana Point Harbor                        $153,192
Director, Housing &Community Devlpmnt     $172,392
Director, Reser. Dev. Management Dpt          $172,572
Director, Child Support Services                    $196,956
Director, Forensic Science services                $155,964
Director, Health Care Agency                         $196,308
Director OC waste & Recycling                       $173,364
Director, Social Services                                $196,956

County of Orange Average                 $193,399

OCVector Control                             $145,624

County of Orange Average is 32.8 percent higher than OCVCD Distrtict Manager

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