The Reed Township Mosquito abatement district was formed by voter referendum in November of 1988. The district has a Board of Trustees. These board members are appointed a four-year term by the Reed Township Board of Trustees. The objectives are to control nuisance mosquitoes, and reduce the potential of mosquito-born disease transmission in order to provide a comfortable and healthy atmosphere for district residents. Since the tax base of the District is shrinking, and the increased presence of mosquito born diseases, the District, along with other districts, have shifted their concentration more toward eliminating the vector (disease carrying) mosquitoes and less on the nuisance mosquitoes. By state of Illinois code (70 ILCS 1005), the trustees of the district are not to be compensated in any way. The Reed Township Mosquito Abatement District is financed by annual tax levies on the property in the district. The maximum tax rate is 0.025%. This means that taxes for the district on a house with a market value of $125,000.00 would be less than $10.50 a year. The district must send an annual operations report to the Illinois Department of Public Health.
Reed Township M.A.D.’s district consists of Reed Township, which is located in the southwest corner of Will County, Illinois. It is 18 square miles in size. The City of Braidwood and part of the Village of Godley are located in the district.
Mosquito Abatement manages the population of mosquitoes to reduce their damage to human health, economies, and enjoyment. Mosquito control is a vital public-health practice throughout the world and especially in the tropics because mosquitoes spread many diseases, such as malaria.
Mosquito-control operations are targeted against three different problems:
- Nuisance mosquitoes bother people around homes or in parks and recreational areas;
- Economically mosquitoes reduce real estate values, adversely affect tourism and related business interests, or negatively impact livestock or poultry production;
- Public health is the focus when mosquitoes are vectors, or transmitters, of infectious disease.
