PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — Families in St. Pete have been getting utility bills as high as nearly ten times their normal charge.
It's been an issue for months.
On Thursday, the utility department presented a report explaining why the bills have been so high.
Utility leaders also said roughly 1,200 customers have not been billed since Hurricanes Helene and Milton, and they are working to catch up on those.
In the meantime, the utility department is addressing unusually high bills on a case-by-case basis.
"It's sad. I mean, we all work very hard for our money, and we rely on water, everybody does. It's sad. They need to figure it out so we aren't stuck on this," said Kristi Chaffee, who lives in St. Pete.
Chaffee is one of many people in St. Pete that have received unusually high water bills recently.
St. Pete Mayor Ken Welch said a few thousand people in St. Pete are receiving similar bills.
"I was shocked because normally my bill is $80 to $100 at the most, and it was $767, and I was like, woah, that's not normal," said Chaffee.
She said she understands rates might need to rise over time, but not as high as she's seen recently.
"I'm hoping they figure out why our bills are so high and can get our bills back to normal, obviously with everything and prices going up, things are going to go up, but not almost $700 worth," she said.
She's done what she can to find out the cause.
"I had the plumber come out, they told me there was no leak, so I sent all that information to them," said Chaffee.
Chaffee is not the only one.
"We can't afford this. Like last month, we had to gather money from several family members just to make that bill so they wouldn't turn off the water…so there's something amiss here," said John Chen at the St. Pete City Council Meeting.
On Thursday, utility leaders said during hurricanes Helene and Milton, some meters were not accessible, and bills were backlogged, then estimated for several months based on previous usage.
Utility workers also explained there was a rate increase between Helene and Milton, and new meters are detecting more accurate water usage readings.
St. Pete Utility Services said if people have concerns regarding their bills, they can contact the department, check their homes for water leaks, ask for a payment plan, or dispute their bill.
St. Pete Council Member Copley Gerdes said the city is investigating bills on a case-by-case basis and is looking into city code to provide more flexibility to customers.
"Hopefully, we can get to the bottom of this," said Chen.
City Council will be discussing the high bills during the city's next Committee of the Whole meeting.
In the meantime, the utility department said it will not shut off people's water or issue late fees until more information is presented.
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