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Council updates utility billing rules: wholesale rate used for leak relief, new abnormal-event relief and deadline for storm-related adjustments
Summary
City amended code to use the Tampa Bay wholesale water rate for leak and event adjustments, added up-to-10,000-gallon relief for abnormal events and created a 60-day emergency window for relief following a declared emergency; staff said they have cleared a backlog of delayed bills and are updating application forms.
The St. Petersburg City Council unanimously adopted an ordinance amending Chapter 27 of the city code to change how the city calculates relief for unusually high water bills and to add new categories of relief for accidents, vandalism and storm-related events.
Under the ordinance, when staff grant a leak or event adjustment the city will calculate commodity charges using the Tampa Bay wholesale water rate ($2.64 per 1,000 gallons) instead of the city’s lowest residential block rate (previously $3.79). The ordinance also authorizes water-and-sewer relief for up to 10,000 gallons for qualifying abnormal events and creates a 60-day window of relief for billing periods that fall within or immediately after a declared state or local emergency.
Candace Winter, Billing and Collections director, told the council that staff…
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