ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — After months of frustration and confusion over unusually high water bills, the St. Petersburg City Council has approved hiring an outside consultant to investigate what’s gone wrong inside the city’s utility billing system.
The council voted unanimously Thursday to spend $125,000 on an independent management review of the billing and collections department — a move many hope will finally bring relief to residents still struggling with unresolved billing issues.
Council members say the decision comes after a year of complaints from residents whose bills jumped from just a few dozen dollars to several thousand. The problem spiked after hurricanes Helene and Milton but has persisted long after the storms passed. Between July 2024 and April 2025, the city adjusted more than 12,000 bills to correct discrepancies…