The city of Tampa's government has a major problem on its hands — and it's not panhandling.
No, the problem is that thousands of citizens, mostly clustered in the New Tampa and Dana Shores regions, have received whopping and disproportionately high water bills over the course of the past few months, and though the city's water department has its theories, they can't specifically say why it's happening.
Thursday morning at the Tampa City Council's weekly meeting, numerous citizens spoke during the session allowing for public comment, some with stunning stories about not only the bizarre nature of their suddenly astronomical utility charges, but also about a customer service staff that appears to be overwhelmed by the volume of complaints.
For the past several years, hundreds of city jobs have been cut as Mayor Pam Iorio has adapted to having less revenue to work with. Some analysts have marveled about how essential services have continued to be provided (for the most part) without any major inconveniences to citizens, but the reduction of such personnel in the city's water department is alienating those now who, already angry about their shockingly high bills, can't seem to get any redress as they complain to City Hall.
On Wednesday, Tampa Public Works Administrator Steve Daignault told the local media that a running toilet can waste 108,000 gallons per month, and that these leaks are what's accounting for the huge charges that so many customers are contending with. Broken water pipes are also another probable culprit. Daignault and Tampa Water Director Brad Baird said the cold spells in December & January broke 571 city pipes.
After listening to nearly an hour of complaints (that were sprinkled in with accompanying negative remarks about panhandling) Council Chairman Thomas Scott said he wanted to apologize to those gathered for the problems they were experiencing. "I don't understand how 200-300 people can have the same problem at the same time," but said the council's ability to do anything about it was limited.
This article appears in Jan 20-26, 2011.