Acting upon a recommendation by Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio, the Tampa City Council on Thursday voted to suspend the two highest water rates as a means of reducing the massively high water bills experienced by thousands of citizens in the past few months — with over 500 claiming rate hikes ten times their normal bill.
Mayor Iorio has already brought together a task force to determine what's gone wrong, but that's not satisfying some council members like Thomas Scott and Mary Mulhern, who say they'd prefer an independent audit.
The city's rates are tiered, with the highest rates going to those who use the most water. There have been seven tiers, the highest two added last year.
Councilman Charlie Miranda believes a combination of factors has led to the meltdown. "The whole system needs a complete overhaul," he said. "This is not a transmission problem, this is an engine problem." He expressed faith that city officials will ultimately be able to determine what's broken down, but worries that perceptions of the problem will lead local residents to doubt Tampa officials in the future.
Part of that perception probably stems from city officials initially blaming customers for the huge increases in their water bills, saying that the record-breaking cold weather in December and January led to water leaks.
But Mayor Iorio changed her tune last week and said there could be inaccuracies because of citizens' water meters only being read once every two months. Miranda suggested today that it's time to go back to monthly readings, as Iorio hinted last week.
Council Chair Thomas Scott said he still advocated an independent audit as the first course of action, but said he would wait until the mayor's task force comes before the council on March 17.
This article appears in Feb 10-16, 2011.