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Hardee County staff proposes modest assessment increases for fire and solid waste; collection fee tied to contract CPI
Summary
Presenters proposed a 5% increase to the fire protection special assessment and a 5% increase to the solid-waste disposal assessment; county staff also proposed a 2.89% cost-of-living adjustment embedded in the solid-waste collection contract.
County staff proposed modest increases to several special assessments and fees during the FY26 budget workshop.
Fire protection special assessment: Staff proposed a 5% increase to the countyfire protection assessment to fund rising costs for fire services, medical supplies and rescue equipment. Under the recommendation, the residential fire protection assessment would rise to $234.31 annually (an increase of $11.15 per year, or about $0.93/month). Presenters said the increase represents a return to the customary 5% adjustment after a period of lower increases.
Solid waste assessments and collection: Staff recommended a 5% increase in the solid-waste disposal assessment to help cover equipment replacement and the opening of a new landfill cell; that would raise the disposal residential assessment to about $115.02 annually (a $5.48 annual increase, about $0.45/month). Separately, the contracted collection assessment is projected to rise by 2.89% based on the contract's CPI provision, increasing the residential collection assessment from $149.50 to $153.59 annually (about $4.09 per year).
Tonnage and landfill context: Solid-waste staff reported rising tonnage: about 24,000 tons in FY2021, roughly 32,787 in FY2023-24, and 35,950 year-to-date in the current fiscal year — an ongoing upward trend that staff said is driving operational and capital needs at the landfill. Staff also described a closure fund balance currently at about $2,000,000 and said annual contributions and the fundbalance are monitored against engineering estimates for future closure liability. Presenters said a recent engineering re-evaluation prompted a survey/flyover to confirm remaining landfill capacity.
Process notes: Staff said both the fire assessment and the solid-waste changes will be brought back as resolutions at the July 17 meeting; the solid-waste collection adjustment follows the contract's CPI step and is presented as part of the budget packet.
