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St. Petersburg pauses shutoffs, refers utility billing fixes after residents report shockingly high post‑storm water bills
Summary
Council heard scores of residents report four‑figure water bills after hurricanes Helene and Milton, learned thousands of accounts were estimated or delayed by an aging billing system, and voted to refer ordinance changes and a committee review while pausing disconnections and late fees.
Hundreds of residents who said their water bills spiked after back‑to‑back storms pressed St. Petersburg leaders on Thursday, and the City Council directed staff to seek near‑term relief while sending code changes to a committee of the whole.
Interim billing and collections director Candace Winter told the council the city has about 103,000 utility customers and that thousands of accounts were either estimated or delayed after Tropical Storm Debbie and hurricanes Helene and Milton made meters inaccessible. “We are here this afternoon to billing, estimated utility bills, delayed utility bills, high consumption issues, leaks, adjustments, and touch on the utility rebilling review committee,” Winter said during a briefing that laid out how the legacy Naviline billing system produced estimates using prior‑period averages and how a rate restructure increased charges in upper tiers.
Council members and residents described accounts jumping from typical monthly amounts to bills of $1,000–$1,800. Resident John Marie Leon told the council his bill was $1,800 for four months and that his 95‑year‑old neighbor received a two‑month bill of $400 after previously averaging under $100. Donors and other callers said meter replacement campaigns and estimated reads may be driving artificial spikes; several said field checks found no private leaks. “We were hit with tropical storm Debbie…with hurricane Helene…the city offices were closed…and there being more than 10,000 inaccessible meters, customers’ bills were once again estimated and delayed,” Winter said, adding the city had embargoed many suspicious accounts and planned to resolve a backlog of roughly 1,200 delayed accounts within about 60 days.
Council member Brandy Gabbard and others pressed administration on immediate protections for residents. Assistant City Administrator Tom Green told council the city would agree to pause disconnections and waive late fees while staff and the city attorney evaluate code amendments and practical steps to help customers. Council then voted unanimously to waive standard council procedure and refer the issue to the committee of the whole at the earliest possible date, and staff said they would pursue administrative steps to hold off shutoffs pending follow‑up.
The council and staff emphasized remedies available to customers: leak adjustments under city code (Section 27‑6) when private‑property repairs are proven, payment plans of varying length, and petitions to the Utility Billing Review Committee (UBRC). “Any customer who contacts us with questions about their higher than expected utility bill are given…options such as leak adjustments or payment plans,” Winter said. Staff also committed to producing more detailed reporting to council on how many complaints have been filed, how many adjustments were granted, and the composition of the backlog.
Next steps: council directed staff to bring a committee item as soon as procedural notice allows, to explore temporary administrative relief (including expanded freeze on shutoffs and late‑fee waivers), and to draft possible code changes aimed at giving billing staff more flexibility for storm‑related and other extraordinary circumstances.
What residents can do now: staff urged customers who believe bills are incorrect to contact utility accounts customer service, request a field check or walk‑through, file for a leak adjustment if a private repair is made, and ask for a payment plan while investigations proceed.
