The East Flagler Mosquito Control District spent more than $1 million more than it actually had last fiscal year and is now facing cuts to deal with it.

  • East Flagler Mosquito Control more than $1M over budget
  • Blames some on cost of new building
  • Cutting some items to replace money

On Monday, the mosquito control board's accounting firm didn't see the oversight, and neither did officials.

"I don't think they answered the question to how it occurred," said Flagler Beach resident Paul Eik. "I didn't hear from other than one commissioner even approaching the idea that 'we are in some way responsible for this.'"

East Flagler Mosquito Control officials attributed some blame to spending more than $2 million on their new building.

As it stands now, four part time workers have been let go, and the CFO for many years immediately opted for early retirement to cut his salary from their budget.

"There are people that were employed by this agency that are no longer bringing in an income they have to be suffering and their families as well," Eik said.

The board lists several other ways they plan to get its budget back on track, including cutting the cost of fuel in its fleet and uniform costs.

"We cannot do business like we did previously. We need to know what we have and what we can spend, because if there is a crisis that comes up, we have to be ready," Commissioner Pat Fruehan said.

Officials hope to make up for the gap with new tax revenue but also approved to use about $200,000 in reserves to help cover this October and November's expenditures.

They plan to handle accounting differently, with better financial reporting and a more modern business structure.

"That's going to be difficult but I think it can be accomplished," Eik said.

One way the district plans to get money back is by selling its old building for around $300,000. The board said any money it uses from the reserves will be replaced.

"That's not going to happen again," Fruehan said. "It's going to be run as an efficient organization. It's going to be run as a business, and we're going to make sure. This is a going to be a breath of fresh air, because we're going to get rid of some frivolous things."