Attorney calls for audit into St. Pete's irregular water bills, city leaders to take up issue Thursday
The Brief
Attorney Matt Weidner says legal action may be necessary as St. Pete residents deal with irregular water bills.
The city has received a wave of complaints about unusually high bills – some totaling thousands of dollars.
City leaders plan to take up the issue during their meeting starting at 1:30 p.m. Thursday.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - After weeks of St. Pete residents receiving shockingly high water bills, some in the thousands of dollars, one attorney is now calling for an audit and adds that further legal action may need to be taken against the city.
What they're saying
"As the community, my neighborhood, has struggled to recover, to now find these bills and see what's going on, it's just really devastating to me," said attorney Matt Weidner.
Weidner's home on Snell Isle was flooded by Hurricane Helene. It came as a real shock when he received an $800 water bill for months in which he wasn't even living in the home.
PREVIOUS:High water bills stun owners of vacant, gutted homes in St. Pete
He saw FOX 13's reporting on irregular water bills, some in the thousands of dollars at homes gutted by the hurricanes.
"Why is it that hundreds, maybe thousands of people are complaining about what's happening with these water bills?"
Unsatisfied with the city's responses so far, he's calling on the city to conduct an audit.
"Good faith demands that the city audit this entire problem here, because again, there is clearly a problem," he said.
He's also calling on the city to pause shut-offs for unpaid bills, until this can be sorted out.
If they don't, he plans to file an injunction.
"We have people in this community who are suffering like never before, people on fixed income, people on regular income that are just getting hit right now. And this feels like a real sucker punch. I have a real problem with the city. I've heard instances of cutting off water or telling people that they're going to turn off water disconnect services if these outrageous bills aren't paid. I'm asking the city to suspend all disconnect activities while these matters are being investigated," said Weidner.
We've been asking the city for answers on this issue for weeks. On Tuesday, after the State of The City Address, Mayor Ken Welch was asked about the high bills.
"We had a rate of restructuring, the normal rate of restructuring that we normally have. I don't believe that's driving the anomalies. I think that you're talking about a couple of thousand, which is a lot of folks have got extremely high water bills. I've asked staff to give me a report on that. They're reporting the council will believe this Thursday on it. And it seems to be a combination of things," he said.
RELATED: Homeowner gets $6,000 water bill amid irregular bills in St. Pete
What's next
City Council will get a report on the issue on Thursday.
FOX 13 has also learned from city records that there are 1,200 customers who have not even received bills since the hurricanes, and the city is working through that as well.
The issue is on the city council's agenda for Thursday at 1:30 p.m.
The Source
Information for this story was collected by FOX 13's Genevieve Curtis.
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