PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — St. Petersburg City Council leaders approved a new water rate hike that could increase bills by 8% per month.
This comes after months of people saying the rates are getting too high and are pleading for help.
Watch residents talk about rate hike to Tampa Bay 28 reporter Casey Albritton
City leaders said the increase is needed to update stormwater and wastewater infrastructure, and to protect St. Pete going forward.
Many homeowners said they are tired of the rate increases and want the city to find other ways to fund the infrastructure projects.
"I don't see how they are able to raise bills that people already can't afford. It just doesn't make sense. It's been pretty, it's fluctuated a lot, especially since the hurricanes last year. I noticed a $600 bill, and I looked at it. I was like this can't be," said Nikki Lee, who lives in St. Pete.
Lee said her water bills this year have been consistently high.
"This is a 980 square-foot home with two people so it's not like we're using a ton of water... so it's been pretty dramatic," said Lee.
She said water bills have been making it harder to make ends meet.
'My partner right now she's in school so there's not a lot of wiggle room and so when you have this $200, $300 bill come in each month. It's like wow, that could've gone through to groceries," she said.
Another homeowner in St. Pete, Nichole Boyer, agrees.
"In St. Pete everything is expensive anyway, everything is to live here and it's hard for people to afford their electric bills and their water bills whenever they keep going up," said Boyer.
St. Pete utilities said the average homeowner could see their bills go up by roughly 8% per month to fund repairs for aging stormwater infrastructure.
Lee said that while she doesn't want rates to increase anytime soon, she also knows that infrastructure needs to be a focus.
"Hopefully, they're gonna use that money to do that. The street here actually floods pretty often too and there's fish that actually swim up the street which is super crazy, but hopefully that price adjustment money is going towards fixing these things," said Lee.
The city is also considering replacing water meters after many residents received extremely high and out-of-the-ordinary water bills earlier this year.
It's a push by city councilman, Corey Givens Jr., to improve customer usage and leak detection.
Boyer manages an estate. The building has no running water and bathrooms are used as storage, but she said the owner still gets high bills.
"She's getting $300 water bills for here and not having water on at all…so something isn't right. Something isn't right with the meters," said Boyer.
No matter what happens with water bills going forward, Lee hopes residents are being put first.
"We just hope that you do right by us and if you're gonna raise the prices, please deliver on what you're gonna say you're gonna do," said Lee.
Share Your Story with Casey
Casey Albritton is dedicated to telling your stories throughout Pinellas County. From South St. Petersburg to Tarpon Springs, she’s there to share the triumphs and struggles of the community she calls home. So, let Casey know about the stories that matter to you.
.
Elderly woman discovers over $100,000 in unclaimed funds thanks to an officer
"I get a bunch of mail every night saying that I won money. It went from like $40,000 to $80,000," said an 88-year-old local woman, who just went by Barbara.
