06-02-2025
St. Petersburg commits to not shutting off water because of high bills
ST. PETERSBURG — The city will not shut off water service or charge late fees to any households that have received utility bills that are higher than normal, in some cases by thousands of dollars, pledged City Administrator Rob Gerdes.
City officials on Thursday offered no sweeping explanation for why so many water bills are out of whack, and could not say how many customers are affected in a presentation to the St. Petersburg City Council.
Inundated with complaints from desperate constituents, some of whom showed up pleading for relief, council members voted to take the quickest course of action and hold a meeting Feb. 20 to discuss how to change city code. The code that outlines how to resolve utility disputes is based on leaks and leak adjustments, and the city needs more flexibility to adjust inflated bills that are due to unknown causes.
Jon Chen said he had to pool money from family member's to pay the $800 bill for his family's home in north St. Petersburg.
'It shows we're using more water now than we're using last year this time. And we've actually used less,' he said. 'In the last two months we've consciously used less water. So hopefully we can get down to the bottom of this.'
Chen suspected a faulty water meter. So did resident Jerome King, though the city hasn't identified that as a cause.
'A lot of people like myself are dealing with high water bills, and you do get a blanket rebuttal when you go to the Water Department,' said King, who lives in Childs Park. 'It would seem like our only hope for some type of normalcy would rely in you all's hand and whatever limits of power you guys had to address this manner.'
Officials have pointed to downed trees and damage from hurricanes Helene and Milton as possible culprits, though many residents say they've hired plumbers who can't find any issues. Another possibility is that some meter readers weren't able to access meters due to debris and estimated bills based on average use. But customers say they got bills higher than would be explained by estimating.
Exacerbating the issue is a new rate structure, which charges heavy users more per gallon than those who use less.
The city previously said leaks could be on public property, but Public Works Administrator Claude Tankersley said that was incorrect. He said meters can detect whether a leak is located on the city or customer side of the water line.
Council members didn't buy that the problem couldn't be on the city's end.
'What if we really did make a mistake, what if it really is on us?' said City Council member Deborah Figgs-Sanders. 'That is just not a 'my bad' moment.'
Figgs-Sanders also said she's received complaints that customer service representatives have been rude and disrespectful when residents call to get help.
'That's something that needs to be addressed right away,' she said. 'That's something that doesn't cost a lot of money. '
