ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) — Beginning Sunday, June 1, residents of St. Pete may once again incur late fees on their water bills, with the first series of potential water disconnections set to commence in July.
For several months, News Channel 8 has been assisting as St. Petersburg residents deal with unexpectedly high water bills, which many claim began during the hurricane season.
St. Petersburg resident David Kuoch told News Channel 8 he got several abnormally high bills, including one for $2,538.
Susan Gagle said she got one for $1,200.
Antoinette Lagrone and her husband received a bill for over $1,500.
They are just a few of the people that have shared their stories with 8 On Your Side.
Let’s break down the numbers.
City officials reported that since September, they have provided $1.7 million in assistance to customers with property leaks, nearly $48,000 in adjustments for residents affected by home flooding, and an additional $14,000 for those with high meter readings but no detectable leaks.
Matthew Weidner is an attorney who had a high bill himself.
He said, “Thousands of citizens in the city of St. Petersburg received outrageous water bills, and here to this day, eight months later, we still have exactly no answer.”
This memo from St Pete’s billing and collections director lays out some upcoming changes.
Part of it reads, “As our community continues to recover, the city will resume normal collection activities effective June 1st, 2025 and the first potential lock offs beginning July 1st, 2025.”
Weidner said he doesn’t believe these steps should be taken until the city gets to the root of why the bills were so high in the first place.
“I want this administration to be held accountable, I want answers to be provided to the citizens of this community about why these outrageous bills occurred,” he said.
News Channel 8 reporter Nicole Rogers asked Weidner, “What do you want now?”
“The same thing I wanted eight months ago: a legitimize answer to why citizens are getting thousands of dollars’ worth of bills with no good explanation as to why they were billed in that manner,” he responded.
In March, the St. Pete City Council approved a resolution that allowed Stantec Consulting Services to take a look at these abnormal water bills and give an analysis.
News Channel 8 is working to get answers on where that analysis stands, and if Stantec Consulting Services was able to get to the root of the problem.
