I wish our local board also had a merit source. Though recently that thread is getting spammy because of a bunch of new users but still many quality posts have been unmerited there because higher-rank local member usually doesn't show up there regularly. Maybe this is also a reason why our local members ignore the local board. As you have mentioned everybody wants some kind of reward which will motivate them to go back to that place again.
Report them up, and encourage some users to maybe apply to become a merit source. I mean, the worst that can happen is it'll be rejected/ignored. Obviously, reports always help, even if it's to signal to theymos that an additional moderator is required in a certain section.
About the reward, unfortunately I've learned that's pretty much the motivate for almost everyone. Regardless if it's Bitcoin or not. It's absolutely crazy what some people will do for a little extra cash. That's the way of life. Although, there definitely are individuals out there that are worth their weight in gold.