As the holiday season rapidly approaches, residents of Hillsborough County should mark their calendars and plan accordingly, particularly when it comes to county services and facilities. According to a recent announcement on Hillsborough County's official website, several public offices and spaces will observe the Christmas holiday schedule, with closures affecting routine services such as waste collection and customer service operations.
In detail, all county offices, including the main Customer Service Center, will be closed on Christmas Day, December 25. Looking for some outdoor activity, however, dog parks and several nature preserves excluding the Apollo Beach Nature Preserve will remain open from sunrise to sunset. While the regular waste collection schedules are taking a pause on Christmas Day, services will resume on Friday, December 26 – but don't hold out for any makeup days if your pickup falls on the holiday.
For those dealing with the aftermath of holiday festivities, the disposal of Christmas trees has been laid out in a straightforward process. Trees need to be stripped of decorations and cut into manageable sections before being placed curbside on the regular yard waste collection day. Alternatively, Hillsborough County has provided two yard waste processing facilities where residents can drop off their live trees, operational Monday through Saturday after December 25.
Continuing with the holiday operational schedule, the day after Christmas will see many county offices and facilities, including public libraries and the Pet Resource Center, remain closed. As families unwrap gifts and come together around the table, remember that for any potential water or wastewater emergencies, the Water Resources department can be contacted at (813) 307-1000. Meanwhile, those looking to burn off some Christmas calories will find that select parks and splash pads will still be accessible to the public.
Looking beyond the closures, Hillsborough County assures residents that critical services will not entirely grind to a halt. A limited team of Animal Control and Code Enforcement officers will be on call for emergencies, ensuring that even during the festive season's lull, community safety and regulation adherence remain a priority. As always, for non-urgent issues, the 'At Your Service' portal is available around the clock for customer service requests, even when physical offices are shuttered.
