Review finds Mosquito Abatement District spending outpaces peers; committee considers consolidation

An analysis presented Tuesday to the St. Tammany Parish Council’s efficiency committee concluded the Mosquito Abatement District operates with large cash reserves, costly capital assets and recurring expenses that may be redundant with parish services, and recommended the council consider consolidating the district under parish government.

The presentation was made by Elizabeth Othman, an assistant district attorney for St. Tammany and Washington parishes, and a local business work group led by Kyle France. Othman told the committee, “The public is not going to give the parish any more money. And I don't think that they should,” and said the review focused on the district to illustrate broader structural funding issues across special taxing districts.

The report, which committee members said is posted on the parish website, shows the Mosquito Abatement District budgeted about $9.9 million for 2025 and projects $9.6 million in collections this year on a 3.1 millage rate. The district’s audited 2024 statements list more than $40 million in total assets, including aircraft and a new laboratory the report says cost at least $7.64 million to construct. The district purchased a helicopter in 2021 for just over $4 million and owns two fixed-wing aircraft (one listed at about $3.5 million and another at about $645,000). The presentation states the helicopter flew 41 hours on spray missions in 2024 (20 missions), and that the district paid about $152,000 a year in aircraft-related insurance.

Othman and the work group…