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St. Pete leaders address high water bills
FOX 13's Aaron Mesmer reports.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Relief may be on the way for families in St. Petersburg who faced extremely high water bills following Hurricanes Helene and Milton after city council members passed a series of resolutions on Thursday.
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For more than two hours, St. Petersburg City Council's Committee of the Whole discussed residents' complaints regarding excessively high water bills in the months after back-to-back hurricanes last year.
RELATED: High water bills: St. Pete leaders vote to stop late fees, water shut offs after resident complaints
Council passed three resolutions aimed at streamlining adjustments to bills that, in some cases, cost homeowners thousands of dollars. Council members said customers who were overcharged should see their bills come down to the lowest possible level.
"Today, if you have a delayed bill or if you have an overage, you will be able to reach out to the city and have them fix that departmentally without having to prove that there wasn't a leak with a plumber," said Councilman Copley Gerdes. "The relief you'll get is it'll come down to the lowest tier, which will be the Tampa Bay Water tier eventually if the ordinance is passed."
What they're saying:
Dozens of homeowners reached out to FOX 13 after we first reported the issues several weeks ago, which is among the reasons the topic ended up in front of city council.
Experts with the city's water services department told council a number of the homeowners who were overcharged likely had issues with their toilets. They believe flooding caused a series of plumbing issues, including broken pipes and water pressure changes that caused toilets to run nonstop. That, however, didn't happen in every situation and city crews continue to investigate.
City staff told council that homeowners can request a refund, even though many of them received a credit on their account. The city said it would also like to convert all water meters to digital ones in the coming months to help ensure accurate readings and timely responses to leaks.
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