Latest news with #MattWeidner
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
2 lawsuits filed over St. Petersburg's high water bills, city provides relief to homeowners
The Brief Attorney Matt Weidner is suing the City of St. Petersburg over abnormally high water bills. The city took steps on Thursday to help homeowners through the process. ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - This week, an attorney filed two lawsuits against the City of St. Petersburg for abnormally high water bills. This comes after thousands of customers received bills hundreds of dollars more and, in some cases, thousands of dollars more than typical bills. Big picture view FOX 13 first broke this story weeks ago. On Thursday, St. Petersburg City Council made moves to help homeowners who are dealing with extraordinarily high water bills. Among them: you will not have to hire a plumber or repair a leak in order to get a refund. RELATED: St. Pete families left with extremely high water bills after hurricanes may be getting relief While the city took steps to help homeowners through the process, there still was not a substantive explanation for how it happened. Now, at least two lawsuits have been filed against the city alleging breach of contract and deceptive trade practices. What they're saying "I'm just dumbfounded, even worse today than when we first started this process," said Attorney Matt Weidner. He is among those fighting high water bills. His Snell Isle home was gutted after Hurricane Helene and he still received a $1,000 bill. He filed a lawsuit Monday against the city alleging breach of contract and deceptive trade practices. He also filed suit on behalf of a 92-year-old woman who has a $10,000 dollar bill for a vacant home, since she resides in a nursing home. PREVIOUS:High water bills: St. Pete leaders vote to stop late fees, water shut offs after resident complaints "Nobody was in that house. Makes no sense whatsoever," he said. He says Thursday's meeting was frustrating. Though staff insisted it's not an issue with the city's meters, Weidner is not convinced of that. "The analysis was wholly unsatisfactory. I heard almost no discussion at all of what is the real issue, which is consumption," said Weidner. Staff presented several theories, but there has yet to be a definitive determination for the issue. "Whether it's a glitch in the matrix, it's a hardware issue, it's a software issue, there is something there that needs to be recognized, and I think we will figure it out as time goes on," said City Councilman Mike Harting. As our reporting highlighted, the current process put the burden on homeowners to prove a negative. MORE:Homeowner gets $6,000 water bill amid irregular bills in St. Pete "They hired a plumber. The plumber can't find a leak. Our response is, 'no leak, no repair, no refund.' I'm not comfortable with that. I looked at Sarasota. They have this abnormal circumstance language. I think that can help people," said City Administrator Rob Gerdes. The city can now help homeowners without jumping through as many hoops. "It gives us some flexibility to help homes outside of, you have to prove to us that you had a leak. Now there are some departmental procedures, you don't have to go to the (Utility Billing Review Committee) so there's a couple less steps to get relief, so it comes faster," said City Council Chair Copley Gerdes. Weidner is hoping his lawsuit will answer some of the accountability questions, and is encouraging those with high water bills to make noise. "Listen, my phone is ringing off the hook. I can't possibly help any fraction of the people that are calling in here. What people have to do is e-mail city council with their examples, because the only way this is going to get fixed is if city council can wrap their brain around this problem," said Weidner. CLICK HERE:>>>Follow FOX 13 on YouTube What's next In the meantime, the city has paused late fees and disconnections for people with high bills. The city council will also be looking to make some ordinance changes to better help homeowners in the future. They will take that up in March. The Source Information for this story was gathered by FOX 13's Genevieve Curtis. STAY CONNECTED WITH FOX 13 TAMPA: Download the FOX Local app for your smart TV Download FOX Local mobile app: Apple | Android Download the FOX 13 News app for breaking news alerts, latest headlines Download the SkyTower Radar app Sign up for FOX 13's daily newsletter
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Yahoo
St. Pete City Council to receive updated report on thousands of open code enforcement cases
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., (WFLA) – St. Petersburg City Council will get an updated report from code enforcement on storm-damaged properties. This comes a few days after some people found out they had open code enforcement cases at their homes but were never notified. Normally, the number of open code cases is around 1,000-2,000. In January, that number went up to almost 11,000. This news left a lot of homeowners shocked when they checked their homes or rental properties. 'To me, that's the biggest issue. Apparently, there are 11,000 active investigations and citizens don't know this,' Matt Weidner said. 'This was a bit of an overreach; it's like big brother,' said Kevin Batdorf, President of the Shore Acres Civic Association. 'It's just unbelievable': Dunedin army veteran struggling with FEMA, insurance after storms There are thousands of open cases all over, including homes in Eden Isles and Shore Acres. 'Disappointment, there's better ways of handling things,' said homeowner, Rollo Christensen. A city representative sent 8 On Your Side a statement about the open code cases: 'The City's Codes Compliance Assistance Department has initiated codes cases at properties that were identified through damage assessments after Hurricanes Helene and Milton to monitor compliance with city code and FEMA regulations. These cases are being initiated to ensure compliance with city and FEMA requirements by ensuring permits are obtained for necessary repairs, verify permits are closed out with all required inspections to ensure compliance with Florida Building Code, and protect potential buyers from purchasing a property that has been repaired without the required permits and/or inspections being completed.' St. Pete city representative All of these open cases have left some residents feeling uneasy. 'A ghost chase or a witch hunt or however you want to put it, it just doesn't seem like it's a productive way to make sure people are pulling permits for the houses that were damaged by the flood,' Christensen said. 'Will we get through it? I think there's going to be some issues down the road, but you know we just keep plugging on. It's just one more layer of bureaucracy on top of everything else these people are going through,' Batdorf said. The meeting will be held at 3:00 p.m. on Thursday, February 13, at City Hall. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
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. STAY CONNECTED WITH FOX 13 TAMPA: Download the FOX Local app for your smart TV Download FOX Local mobile app: Apple | Android Download the FOX 13 News app for breaking news alerts, latest headlines Download the SkyTower Radar app Sign up for FOX 13's daily newsletter
