After storms, St. Petersburg pauses shutoffs and refers billing code changes amid widespread high water‑bill complaints

St. Petersburg officials said Feb. 5 they will pause water shutoffs and pursue code changes after a post‑storm surge of disputed utility bills and billing delays affected thousands of customers.

City staff described a series of operational interruptions after three back‑to‑back storm events that left tens of thousands of meters inaccessible and created a backlog of estimated and delayed bills. Interim Billing and Collections Director Candace Winter told council that city offices were closed for multiple days after the storms and that the utility billing system generated hundreds to thousands of estimated bills. As of the Tuesday before the council meeting, staff reported a backlog of roughly 1,200 customers whose bills remained delayed because meters were inaccessible; earlier in the response more than 10,000 inaccessible meters were recorded after Hurricane Milton.

Staff outlined how the city’s billing system estimates consumption (three‑month averages or year‑over‑year averages) and said the city is processing a large number of leak‑adjustment requests and payment arrangements. Tom Green, assistant city administrator, introduced billing staff and said administration was asking council to give staff time to propose code amendments. Council unanimously voted to waive normal referral procedures and send the matter to a Committee of the Whole at the earliest available date (council indicated Feb. 20 as a target window) to consider ordinance changes that would expand administrative flexibility for storm‑related billing anomalies.

Councilmembers and dozens of public speakers — including residents who said they received bills in the thousands of dollars — questioned whether meter replacements, system estimation procedures, rate‑tier adjustments and storm‑related private‑property leaks had contributed to large bills. Candace Winter said the city had suspended lockoffs and an emergency waiver of late fees was issued by the mayor for the post‑storm period; staff said lockoffs were suspended Oct. 1 through mid‑January and that the mayor had waived late fees during the initial response.

Council directed staff to return with draft ordinance language to give the city more administrative options for storm‑related and unforeseen billing disputes; staff said they would also consider whether corrective action could be applied retroactively in some cases. In the interim, administration committed not to proceed with disconnections while the city develops the proposed code adjustments and operational fixes. Council also asked for more data on the scope of disputed bills and the status of customers in arrears so members could evaluate potential relief options.