[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6221669,"mediaKeyId","3611689-87eaf43dceda954b11ff66d4cffda4e4","parentId",3611689,"title","Hillsborough staff propose 7.8% solid-waste rate increase to fund $77M landfill expansion","audioSeconds",1789,"startMs",2282000,"endMs",4071000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3611689-87eaf43dceda954b11ff66d4cffda4e4&start=2282&end=4071","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3611689-87eaf43dceda954b11ff66d4cffda4e4/thumbnail_2282000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6221669/Hillsborough-County/Florida/Hillsborough-staff-propose-78-solid-waste-rate-increase-to-fund-77M-landfill-expansion","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6221669-7e567b852945c0f1d4b688355ebd5332/orig.mp4?Expires=1771163299&Signature=i0KwL~uuaWmbPKpsUMAhGFlkRdWBW3JD9k~YSTZaQk7dDe1MGyPMb0GZdsRU5RqWjng~pWWsOtV1NTDOntBblPxiL5nwCIxnoCvJFo~5I4c5METZn7KWEjfzTYgKOsNY0UerTbb8xdnApRgFuZEpLez6MOYjQpkzI6dT8tDNvvcFDWGZsDka7Gh7rTC1NB6NVyb7JbLA8Bk7wenUBXefAbclY5hBGXo4yjBFTA82Z4DuJ9J7c~Ab0zyKRpP-h0N2bwteJGAV5z2xpk0iYVk2uHwC-Ohc7i56ZGzXLSpaoXKj281oNHKI9jzz93BipuMW4Ystc3BniYZNXiC0H-c3SA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Hillsborough County, FL ","date","2025-05-29T14:19:37Z","article","Hillsborough County's Solid Waste Management Department briefed commissioners on a proposed three-year rate plan on June 1 that would fund a $77 million expansion of the county landfill and cover contractual cost increases.

\"We generate over 1,200,000 tons of waste each year,\" Damien Trammell, Solid Waste Management Department director, told the board. Trammell said the county's resource recovery facility is operating at design capacity, processing about 44% of the county's waste, while 41% is sent to the landfill and approximately 15% is recycled.

Trammell said the county is adding roughly 5,000 new residential customers per year. He said landfill volumes jumped in 2024 to about 630,000 tons—an increase of nearly 200,000 tons, or 38% compared with recent years—partly because of the temporary closure of a City of Tampa disposal facility and debris from Hurricane Milton.

The department recommended a $77 million expansion to provide an additional 10 to 15 years of disposal capacity. Trammell said the construction portion is estimated at $66 million, with the remainder for engineering, design and permitting. Staff proposed financing that cost over three years: $26 million in 2026, $27 million in 2027 and $23 million in 2028.

To help pay for the expansion and contractual increases, Trammell proposed a 7.8% rate increase for fiscal year 2026. \"If approved, this change will result in an annual increase of $37.33, which is approximately $3.11 per month,\" he said. Trammell said the FY26 increase would allocate $28.21 of the annual $37.33 toward landfill expansion, $4.47 toward residential collection contract adjustments and $4.65 toward other disposal-contract adjustments. The department projects further increases of about 6% in FY27 and FY28.

Trammell outlined additional details of the solid-waste system: services to more than 325,000 single-family homes; two garbage pickups, one yard-waste and one recycling collection per week; a landfill, a resource recovery (waste-to-energy) facility, two transfer stations and five community collection centers; three donation sites run in partnership with Goodwill; and monthly household hazardous-waste events. The county offers a 33% senior discount and a $68 hardship credit, and provides backdoor pickup for residents who cannot move carts to the curb.

Commissioners asked about financing options and timing. Commissioner Wilson suggested smoothing the cost for ratepayers by creating a small, ongoing capital component on bills or bonding the project so future residents who use the landfill contribute. \"If this was my business... the better way would be that we predicted that, and we just had an ongoing small... capital fee on every bill,\" Wilson said.

Commissioner Cohen said the proposed increases are substantial and urged staff to explore bonding, other financing or general-fund alternatives to reduce the immediate burden on ratepayers, noting the $77 million expansion would buy only another 10 to 15 years of capacity. Trammell and county staff said they plan to use some rate reserves to offset costs in FY26 and to repay reserves over time.

Trammell recommended staff return to the board on June 4 to request a public hearing for Aug. 6 to adopt FY26 solid-waste rates and fees. No rate change was adopted at the workshop.

","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Board of County Commissioners: 2026 Budget Workshop - 5.28.25 - 2","oneSentenceSummary","Solid Waste Director Damien Trammell proposed a three-year rate plan (7.8% in FY26, then 6% in FY27 and FY28) that would fund a $77 million landfill expansion, cover CPI contract adjustments and respond to a 38% landfill-volume spike in 2024; the board asked staff to return June 4 seeking an Aug. 6 public hearing.","taxTitle","Hillsborough County, Florida","taxId",2865,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6221674,"Hillsborough commissioners debate tightening county nonprofit funding policy",2084,196000,2280000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3611689-87eaf43dceda954b11ff66d4cffda4e4&start=196&end=2280","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3611689-87eaf43dceda954b11ff66d4cffda4e4/thumbnail_196000.jpg","/articles/6221674/Hillsborough-County/Florida/Hillsborough-commissioners-debate-tightening-county-nonprofit-funding-policy","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6221674-270bd4347ad7ea8f9806ea0610757e98/orig.mp4?Expires=1771163299&Signature=AMmAQcfeV8QISa1IezWFoyIOUFxAsLuGatv~WkoahaC1zANyKYLMMAI7KJ8yb7MIMfvyVesX79Bhk3cLXeDfFow7Xce0orO8TZwFo2sc-VJSYyYUbXh3Wuo-ybYQvR4wNlUM9Hplaprp4lOftkKeE29~55gQY9xm4N3sn52-Rj-3gxhRmt1AeTpjMdIlES8CTQvL6z77SU9URSvKWREZx0XqjtYwizCdE11GXCNknCHJk-XBleIJdCApw4dOpN-BrpdL02HLVclnt8mZ684tahADN1NHeMnZ4~Z-NzrLMGKB9cveYfnjmMeeqfePYwq6Lxx1zXwmcNPNMmQ9BtdPhg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Commissioners at a Hillsborough County workshop on June 1 discussed changes to the county's nonprofit funding policy intended to reduce recurring, automatic awards and increase transparency and performance measures.

The discussion centered on a policy the board approved Feb. 7, 2024, with an effective date in October 2024 that sets guidelines for when the county may allocate general-fund dollars to nonprofits. Kevin Bridal, management and budget, told the board the policy requires nonprofits to provide their most recently filed IRS Form 990, list all governmental funding compared to total revenues, and submit written funding proposals at least one week before a board vote awarding funds.

The item drew repeated questions about legacy awards that predate the new policy, the rapid growth in the number of nonprofit recipients in recent years, and how the county might phase older recurring awards out without cutting services. \"There are a few items that jumped off the page of me,\" Commissioner Bowles said, noting some nonprofits have received county funds for decades. \"At the very least, if we approach [this], this provides a couple of opportunities to reduce their [recurrence], to reduce recurring [funding] to a more manageable amount...and provide some transparency and accountability through performance measurements.\"

Commissioners described the historical growth in nonprofit spending: Bridal said the county's nonprofit line in fiscal 1998 was about $5.6 million and that the fiscal 2025 budget shows roughly $15.4 million in nonprofit allocations. He said 30 nonprofits appear in the FY25 budget for the two county general funds, and that many recipients have been in the budget for decades while 70 (a referenced figure in the presentation) appeared in the last four years.

Several commissioners pushed for a phased approach rather than an immediate cutoff. Bowles described a stepped reduction proposal where some awards would be reduced to 75% and then 50% in subsequent years to encourage self-sufficiency, and proposed that, at the end of the transition, each commissioner be equitably allocated $500,000 to direct to nonprofit partners as part of a new allocation model. \"Next year, we're 75% of budgeted amount, and next year, we're 50% of [that], again trying to provoke self-sustainability and stakeholder engagement,\" Bowles said.

Other commissioners emphasized that long-standing awards should not automatically continue without performance requirements. \"No one should be getting recurring funds just because it was there,\" Commissioner Wolster said. \"The permanent recurring revenue should be the ones that are bona fide government entities.\" Commissioner Cohen said she wants to see which organizations would be exempt before she would support final changes and asked staff to provide an exemption list and clear criteria.

There was general agreement that staff should return with a draft redline/strike-through version of the county's nonprofit policy for commissioners to review and that any final changes should be considered through the normal public meeting process. \"I would have it come up as a future commissioner item,\" Bowles said. \"Work with staff...to bring back maybe a strike-through underline of the particular policy that is going to be referenced and then bring it back to a board meeting to be voted on.\"

No formal vote was taken at the workshop. Commissioners asked staff to produce detailed charts and category breakdowns, and to identify which nonprofit recipients the county would consider core service partners and therefore likely to be exempt from phase-downs.

The board will consider staff's return of a redlined policy and supporting materials in a future meeting; until then, existing awards remain subject to the current policy and the board's budget process.

","Commissioners discussed a proposed tightening of Hillsborough County's nonprofit funding policy, including step-downs for recurring awards, creation of a standardized funding process and an allocation of $500,000 per commissioner as a transition option; staff will return with a redlined policy for board consideration.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Hillsborough staff propose 7.8% solid-waste rate increase to fund $77M landfill expansion

Hillsborough commissioners debate tightening county nonprofit funding policy