Yolo County supervisors voted Tuesday to extend a controversial needle exchange program that some Woodland residents say has littered their parks and neighborhoods with syringes.

The Syringe Exchange Program was started last year to reduce the rate of HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C infection among intravenous drug users.

In recent months, however, city workers in Woodland have complained of having to clean up more hypodermic needles, and City Council members were surprised to learn that syringes were being distributed in Freeman Park, near the county courthouse.

Kathy Lambert, who lives in an upscale historic neighborhood of Woodland, said she was horrified in June to discover her 10-month-old puppies chewing on syringes in her backyard.

Lambert, 52, said she thinks drug users walking in the alley behind her house tossed the syringes over her backyard fence. "It's the only the way the dogs could have gotten them," she said. "It angers you, is what it does."

She said she blames drug users and not necessarily the needle exchange program. "I don't know if it's a great thing," she said. "I don't know if it's a bad thing."

At Tuesday's meeting in Woodland, supervisors voted 3-2 Tuesday to extend the program for another year and to allocate $100,000 in funding.

County Health Department Director Dr. Bette Hinton said there was insufficient data to show whether the county's rates of HIV/AIDS or hepatitis C infection had been reduced by the program.

That would take several more years to determine, she said.

The goal, Hinton said, is to save the county millions of dollars in treatment costs, including liver transplant procedures. "These are expensive diseases we're trying to prevent," she said.

She said health workers estimated about 150 intravenous drug users had participated in the program so far.

About 70 percent were homeless, either sleeping on the street or "sofa surfing," she said. The majority were men, and many were over 50.

The drug of choice for 64 percent was methamphetamine; the rest injected heroin or other drugs, according to county data.

In the program's first year, nearly 62,000 syringes had been distributed, with 82 percent of them recovered.

Supervisor Matt Rexroad, the former Woodland mayor who opposes the program, said it was unacceptable that more than 11,000 syringes were unaccounted for and presumably had been tossed away.

"That seems like a ridiculously high number," he said.

He said he had encouraged the city of Woodland to put needle containers in city parks, but the city was not interested.

Voting against the program, Rexroad said the $100,000 annual cost to fund it could be better spent elsewhere.

Supervisor Duane Chamberlain, who represents a large rural area, also voted against continuing the program.

Supervisors Helen Thomson and Mariko Yamada, both of Davis, voted to approve it.

Thomson said she was concerned with the number of babies born infected with HIV as a result of needle sharing among drug users.

Yamada said the program needed more time to prove itself.

Mike McGowan, who represents West Sacramento, expressed skepticism over the needle recovery rate but voted to fund the program.

He said data on the program's success was needed to secure future support but acknowledged the potential savings to the county.

The costs of treating diseases transmitted by dirty needles, "come right out of our health budget in a very ugly way," he said.

Call The Bee's Hudson Sangree, (916) 321-1191.