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The buzz on Nov. 4 will be who voters want to fill Seat 4 of the Collier Mosquito Control District.

The 401-square mile taxing district extends north to the county line, south to SR 92 at Collier Seminole State Park, east to DeSoto Boulevard, including Immokalee, but not Port of the Islands, Everglades City, Ave Maria, nor a small area near Corkscrew Sanctuary. State and federally owned environmentally protected areas are also excluded from the district.

The district is separate from Collier County government and property owners within it pay a millage rate of .0635, roughly $19 per year on a $300,000 property, for mosquito protection. The town of Ave Maria is sprayed on an as-needed contractual basis.

The district is governed by a board of five elected officials who are paid $400 a month for their efforts.

Seats 4 and 5 are up for election this year, but Seat 5 incumbent John Johnson was returned to office unopposed.

Seat 4 incumbent and current board chairman Linda Hartman, 60, is an Estates resident, seeking a second term of office. She is a mortgage broker with Millennia Lending Group and has been active in the Estates community, serving as past president of the Estates Area Civic Association and current president of the Homeowners Association of the Golden Gate Estates. Hartman served on the Golden Gate Master Plan Re-Study Committee and currently serves on the East of 951 Master Plan Committee. In 2005, she was named Golden Gate Citizen of the Year.

Challenger Steve Spencer, 48, a Vineyards resident, holds a Bachelor of Science degree in metallurgical engineering from Penn State and owns Gulf Coast Stamping, a company with revenues of $1.6 million. A 2005 graduate of Leadership Lee, Spencer serves on the Horizon Council of Southwest Florida advisory board and its workforce housing task force, as well as the Southwest Florida Workforce Development Board.

Q What inspired you to run for Collier Mosquito Control Board?

Hartman: “I do a lot of work for the community in the Golden Gate area. Community service is my passion. I enjoy using my background in budgeting and business management for the health and safety of community. I am the only board member who lives east of 951. Before I came on board four years ago, that whole area was not represented.”

Spencer: “I have lived in Collier County for 13 years, and Florida for 18 years. During that time, I have volunteered with several community boards and coached youth soccer. Those experiences have been interesting and challenging. Now, I would like to see if my management experience and problem solving skills translate from the private sector to a public organization. I have an interest in public service and want to become more involved. ”

Q Do you feel the District has been run in a fiscally responsible manner, and how might you reduce or control costs?

Hartman: “The District is definitely being fiscally responsible. We are in the process of passing the 2008-09 budget and we are not going to raise taxes at all. People pay $6.35 per $100,000 of property value. It’s a cool thing and we’re going to keep it there by controlling spending. We are using trucks with better mileage, our technicians are multi-tasking to control labor costs and we buy gas in bulk to save money.”

Spencer: “No matter how well an organization is run, there’s always room for improvement. Sometimes it’s good to have someone ask questions from a new perspective. I don’t believe it’s been run in an irresponsible manner, but when I reviewed their budget, I believe there were opportunities for some probing questions that may provide even more padding or accountability with regard to line items or capital expenses.”

Q What do you feel are the most important issues facing the District at this time?

Hartman: “Right now, due to the rain, we have to keep the mosquito population under control so West Nile virus doesn’t pop up. We’re working diligently to make sure everything is sprayed.”

Spencer: “There is an opportunity to improve the budgeting process and utilize assets better. For example, in 2007 the District flew 57 missions with three planes, mostly from June to September, but the pilots are employed 12 months a year. I’d be interested to find out if there are opportunities to use those assets in different ways by calling other agencies to see if they are interested in contracting for the use of the planes and helicopters during off-peak times. Maybe they don’t know they’re equipped with GPS and night vision. It’s a lot of dollars sitting on the ground a large part of the time.”

Q What has the board done well and what needs to be improved?

Hartman: “The board has done well on controlling costs. In four years, the District has not raised taxes; in fact, the mosquito control district was the only independent district in Collier County that did not raise taxes last year. We’ve done a good job keeping costs down, but there is always more you can do. As far as what can be improved upon, we constantly need to experiment with different insecticides, because the mosquitoes may become resistant to what we use now. We are constantly testing to find chemicals that are as effective as what we have now, and also as harmless to people, animals and the environment.”

Spencer: “They’ve done a great job of allowing permanent staff to pursue technological advancement like the public interface on their Web site and software that allows them to enter information about areas with high mosquito counts, load it into the plane navigation system to account for things like wind drift and altitude and then download the data afterwards, so the public can go online to see when and how a particular address was last sprayed.

“From what I’ve heard, they’re in the top 2 percent of mosquito control organizations around the country. Hats off to them. Well done.”

Q Should the current boundaries be expanded?

Hartman: “Eventually, I’d like to see all of Collier County, except the preserve areas, integrated into the District as long as it is financially feasible. Population growth would have to be able to support it.”

Spencer: “If some constituents feel underserved, then that issue needs to be brought to the District. That’s not really been an issue that I’m aware of, but if it’s been discussed in the past, then I need to get educated.”