City Hall is asking St. Petersburg residents to dig deeper into their pockets again, with a fresh round of utility rate hikes set for a first vote this Thursday — just six days before voters head to the polls to pick the city’s next mayor.
If the St. Petersburg City Council signs off, the increases would hit bills starting Oct. 1. Under the proposal, the city wants a 7.5% revenue increase for drinking water, 6.5% for wastewater, 9.75% for reclaimed water, 8.5% for stormwater, and 6% for sanitation — the second such hike in as many years, coming on the heels of last year’s increase.
City officials frame the hikes as routine, the product of an annual study of operating and capital costs across St. Petersburg’s five public utility systems. Mayor Ken Welch told council members in a memo that this year’s numbers largely track earlier projections, though inflation has pushed both operating and construction costs higher than expected. Notably, the city also quietly restructured how it plans to finance stormwater projects — shifting from a 50/50 cash-to-debt split to 30/70, meaning more borrowing and less pay-as-you-go spending, even as the stormwater rate request was trimmed from what was originally floated.
City Council member Corey Givens Jr. pointed to storm damage as a driver of the costs but acknowledged it isn’t the whole story. “There are certainly a lot of factors that have gone into us having to make this tough decision,” Givens said, noting the city’s water and stormwater systems are aging and in need of repair.
Not every resident is convinced raising rates is the only option. Jason Scott, a St. Petersburg homeowner, is pressing the council to look at other options before reaching further into taxpayers’ pockets. Scott wants the city to explore existing programs like SPAR, and to consider eliminating “payment in lieu of taxes” charges — fees the water utility currently pays into the city’s general fund — and instead reinvest that money directly into fixing the systems that need it.
Thursday’s meeting is only the first reading, with public comment allowed. A final vote is scheduled for Aug. 27, two weeks after the mayoral election concludes.
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