Hillsborough County Commissioners voted Wednesday to increase Fees for household waste collection and disposal will be reduced by $40 per year.

“It’s always a difficult conversation,” said Commissioner Harry Cohen, given the general rise in costs. But he also pointed to labor costs and the need to pay a fair wage.

“These are tough jobs… this is training in the heat,” he said. “And it’s a huge responsibility to do these runs and do them right.”

The board voted 5-2 to approve a fee increase that would increase the annual garbage fee for a single-family home from $437 to $477. Commissioners Ken Hagan and Josh Wostal voted against it.

“Everyone here is faced with an impossible decision,” Wostal said. “I will not support any more increases, no matter what the reason. It’s not just about $40.”

The fee covers services to unincorporated Hillsborough County and portions of New Tampa and Tampa Palms within the Tampa city limits. It does not apply to the rest of the City of Tampa, Temple Terrace or Plant City.

It covers twice-weekly curbside garbage collection and once-weekly recycling and yard waste pickup. It also funds various solid waste management facilities, including an incinerator, household hazardous waste collection sites, yard waste processing facilities, and a landfill.

Earlier this month, commissioners postponed their decision on the rate hike to give them time to look for alternatives. Some observers noted at the time that the new date for the discussion – Wednesday – was a day after the primary elections in which two commissioners were in the running.

Damien Tramel, director of the waste management department, presented options Wednesday, including no fee increase or smaller fee increases of $36, $32 or $24. But some of those options could put the county at risk of default and negate the chance for improvements in the future, he said.

“Without a tariff increase, our expenses will exceed our income,” Tramel said.

Part of the money will be used to modernize outdated facilities and expand the landfill.

The commission also voted to extend existing discounts on garbage collection for seniors and those eligible for hardship grants to offset the fee increase.

The Solid Waste Department serves 320,000 households and handles 1.2 million tons of solid waste annually.