Polls are open across Florida today, and one item on the ballot reaches all the way down to the crews draining standing water in Tampa Bay. This is Dengue Fever Watch, and it's Tuesday, November 3rd. Two items this time: what Hillsborough County says its mosquito traps are showing, and why some mosquito-control officials are watching today's vote on Amendment 3.
Ariel Plasencia, reporting for FOX 13 Tampa Bay on Monday:
Despite the high case count, there is positive news in the fight against the virus. County officials say their aggressive treatment strategies — which include helicopter and truck spraying operations — are working. Mosquito traps in Hillsborough County continue to test negative for dengue.
That's the first upbeat line we've had from Hillsborough in a while. What's actually behind it? It comes from Paolo Pecora, a senior environmental scientist with Hillsborough County Mosquito Management, in an interview with FOX 13. Beyond the trap results, he said the East Lake area is reporting a 97 percent reduction in Aedes aegypti, which is the mosquito species that spreads dengue. Ninety-seven percent of what, though? Compared with when? The report doesn't give the baseline or the time window, and it's one neighborhood, not the whole county. It's worth holding that next to what the county itself said on October 29th, when it extended the emergency: that its surveillance in many neighborhoods was showing dengue virus activity in mosquitoes. FOX 13 doesn't say how many traps were tested, or over what dates, so we can't tell whether that picture has changed countywide. And the emergency itself? Unchanged from what we reported on Friday. It runs through this Thursday, November 5th. FOX 13 notes the declaration gives the county access to state resources and a path to reimbursement for certain expenses. Nothing published yet says whether it will be renewed again. The case numbers in the piece, are those new? No. FOX 13 lists Hillsborough at 385 confirmed local cases, which is the same state report we walked through yesterday, covering the year through October 24th. Its tally includes one reported death in Hillsborough. Pinellas is at 67, Pasco 4, Manatee 2 and Polk 1, all from that same report. So the new part is the mosquito side, not the human side. Why does the county still sound worried? The weather. Pecora pointed to the rain over the Halloween weekend, and said, quote, temperatures haven't cooled down quite yet. He said the county will look at this week's rates and follow up on its trap counts and other locations of concern. So for people in Hillsborough this week, what are officials actually asking? According to FOX 13, officials are asking residents to check their property and dump any standing water, wear bug spray, and put on long sleeves, especially with nicer weather drawing more people outdoors. The report also notes that some people infected with dengue show no symptoms at all.
From a report published Monday on the news site DNYUZ:
Hillsborough County, the epicenter, has burned through its annual $7 million mosquito control budget as crews fan out daily to eliminate stagnant pools of water where the insects lay their eggs.
And this lands on Election Day. Connect the two for me. Florida voters decide today on Amendment 3. According to the report, it would raise the property tax break on homestead properties, meaning primary residences, to 150,000 dollars next year, up from 50,000, and then to 250,000 dollars in 2028. Constitutional amendments in Florida need 60 percent of the vote to pass. And mosquito control runs on property tax money? A good share of it. The report says Florida has dozens of county-run programs, many of them already underfunded according to the Florida Mosquito Control Association, plus more than a dozen independent mosquito control districts funded by property taxes. The association hasn't taken a position on the measure. Give me a concrete number for this area. Pasco County is the clearest one. Adriane Rogers, executive director of the Pasco mosquito control district, told the reporter the district may lose a third of its 13 million dollar annual budget within two years. That matters beyond Pasco, because the report says pilots and ground crews from better-funded districts have been helping in Hillsborough. Josh Bellotti, Hillsborough's public works director, said the areas of concern for dengue spread now cover more than 200,000 acres, nearly a third of the county. So the help Hillsborough is leaning on could come from the very budgets that might shrink. That's the argument critics are making. Jeff Brandes, a Republican former state senator from St. Petersburg who is campaigning against the measure, said people don't think about mosquito control until they don't have it. On the other side, Governor Ron DeSantis supports the amendment, saying local governments have grown bloated and inefficient. His office didn't respond to a question about mosquito control specifically. Is anyone saying what would actually be cut? No. Bellotti and other officials told the reporter it's too early to forecast exactly how services or staff would be affected if it passes. Districts could vote to raise their own taxes, which would shift more of the cost to owners of second homes, rentals and businesses. And even inside mosquito control there's disagreement: one longtime Pasco district commissioner told the reporter he's undecided but leaning toward voting for the cut. So nobody should hear this as a forecast. It's a funding question with an Election Day deadline. Right. We're not telling anyone how to vote. What we'll report is the result, and whatever counties and districts say about their budgets after it.
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Next time, we'll be looking for the Amendment 3 result, any word on Hillsborough's emergency before it lapses Thursday, and the next weekly state report. Dengue Fever Watch is part of the Lantern Podcasts family. I'm Cera, he's Daniel, and until next episode, tip out those flower pots.