In an effort to upgrade their operation, Mosquito Abatement District-Davis is proposing to increase their tax revenue by $1,106,000 for their 2026 budget. 

News of the potential change has spread to city council meetings across the county, as individuals who represent their community and the district have been tasked with informing citizens about the adjustment. Set to be decided on after a public hearing, district executive director Gary Hatch says that the funds will be used to construct a new lab, develop improved facilities for employees and purchase more potent adulticides – playing a significant role in managing the spread of West Nile virus.

“The big thing that we're experiencing that didn't exist five to 10 years ago was all the growth that’s happened in Davis County,” said Hatch about the disease. “That’s really had a big impact on trying to do our adulticide operations, trying to get through the neighbors and trying to get everything sprayed.”

According to the district, the change increases their property tax budgeted revenue by 26.18% over the previous year. For a resident who owns a home valued at $600,000, annual taxes dedicated to the district will increase by $7.92.

The potential adjustment reflects the county’s growing abatement needs. Hatch says that before West Nile virus was detected in the area approximately 20 years ago, the district used three trucks to adulticide. Today, their operations feel capped with nine.

Throughout that time, Davis County has played a considerable role in tracking trends experienced by the insects. From the beginning of 2025 until now, Utah has trapped mosquitos and sorted them into 10,822 pools – a number which Davis has contributed 4,237 toward. 

As they’ve intensified their reporting efforts, the district’s need for a new storage facility and lab has increased. Operating out of spaces that were developed before West Nile was detected, the organization aims to construct buildings that are capable of storing more adulticides, and furthering their ability to survey the area. Additionally, due to an increase in their workforce, plans to upgrade the female locker room are being accounted for by the new budget.

“We are at capacity in the women’s locker room and pretty much at capacity in the men’s locker room,” said Hatch. “The big thing that happened in the past five or 10 years is the number of female seasonal employees that we have in comparison to what we used to has gone up a great deal, and so we are having a major problem in the locker room.”

Included in the proposed budget is $150,000 of additional funds for adulticides. According to Hatch, mosquitos in the area have begun to develop a tolerance to the current product. With this new chemical, the district hopes to more effectively manage swarms, and potentially curb issues related to decreased hibernation times – a problem rooted in warmer weather becoming more prevalent in fall.

A tentative budget for the abatement district was approved during a board meeting on Oct. 9. According to Hatch, the public hearing that will occur before the decision to enact the proposal is scheduled for the next board meeting on Nov. 13 at 6 p.m. at the organization’s facility on 600 West in Kaysville, Utah.