ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A 92-year-old woman in a nursing home is being told she owes the City of St. Petersburg more than $10,000 for a water bill on a vacant home that has no detected leaks.
Her daughter, Noreen McClure, spoke directly to city council members at Thursday's meeting on her behalf.
The ABC Action News I-Team first met with McClure last fall at her mother's home. The sky-high bill came in prior to Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton. A plumber confirmed with the I-Team what he had told her months earlier — there was no leak on the property.
After seeing the I-Team's story, attorney Matthew Widener contacted McClure to take on her case pro bono.
Many others are also experiencing extreme water bills with no leaks, no explanation and no relief. While council members have shared example after example of constituents contacting their offices with similar stories, the exact number of people impacted is unclear.
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- 'Shock and outrage': Attorney takes on case pro bono after seeing I-Team story on $10k St. Pete water bill
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In a letter addressed to McClure's mother on February 25, after council members had instructed the city not to charge late fees or shut off water to families as they worked to get to the bottom of the issues and come up with solutions, the city's utility accounts division wrote to address the now $10,888.37 that has not been paid.
"If payment is not received within fourteen (14) days of the date of this letter, we may assign the unpaid balance to a collection agency for further action, which will then be reported to the credit bureaus. Your unpaid balance may also be subject to a utility lien."
McClure, as well as the I-Team, contacted council members and the city about this.
“I was advised early in this process to admit that I had a leak. And that there would be an adjustment. There was not a leak. I’m not going to come and lie and tell you so," McClure told council members during the meeting on Thursday.
That is because, under the city code, relief can be provided for a water leak. But McClure had documentation from a hired plumber indicating over two different visits and multiple tests... that no leak was found.
On Thursday, the city council expanded the scenarios for when the city can provide relief, but McClure says her mother still needs help.
“My poor mom is almost 93, she’s in a nursing home. She doesn’t have the financial ability to pay a bill of that size," McClure told the I-Team.
During Thursday's meeting, she told council members, “Isn’t it your responsibility to advocate for your residents? I do not believe you are doing so. It appears that you do not seriously want to deal with the injustices that are occurring and advocate for your constituents.”
Then, her attorney and St. Pete resident Widener got up to address the city council.
“I know that you people are getting the emails from your constituents. It’s not enough to pass it along and say, talk to the administration. Because the administration isn’t talking to people," Widener said before addressing what would be upcoming agenda items concerning changes to the city code and utility bills. "It avoids what happened and is continuing to happen right now. You have no answers. It talks about flood events, well what if the system is hacked? What if there’s some other malevolent factor? It doesn’t address that. They’re giving you a cure. You don’t have any idea what the disease is.”
It is still unclear why residents like McClure's mother have received extreme water bills despite no detected leaks.
When asked during Thursday's meeting, utility leaders said they were not aware of any "technical glitches" with the meters over-reading.
After McClure spoke, she knocked on the door to the Mayor's office following failed efforts to set up a meeting over the phone. The Mayor's chief of staff said he would get back to her.
On Thursday, the St. Pete City Council unanimously approved changes to the city code that will further allow for adjustments to accounts.
Water charges for leak adjustment relief will now be calculated at a lower cost, there will be relief for abnormal events and relief for abnormal events following a declared state of local emergency.
The city describes "abnormal events" as usage that is "unaccounted for, unexpected, or due to unusual or extenuating circumstances, including but not limited to plumbing system damage due to accidents, vandalism, water theft, or other occurrences generally beyond a customer's control."
Occurrences like McClure's.
Council Member Deborah Figgs-Sanders asked the city to look again at getting McClure and her mother help after hearing her story for the first time during the meeting.
Utility leaders said, "All fees, charges and adjustment relief established by this ordinance shall go into effect for the utility bill water meter reads beginning on May 27, 2025."
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