St. Petersburg residents will vote in November on a property tax to accelerate stormwater, sewage and water projects.
The City Council voted 7-0 Thursday to approve ballot language for the general election. It asks voters to authorize the city to use the new tax to pay for bonds to finance $600 million for upgrades.
Council member Gina Driscoll was absent.
Property owners are expected to pay around $96 on the high end for every $100,000 of taxable property value. Payments will likely be lower initially as the city would take on debt incrementally by issuing bonds. Bonds would have a 30-year lifespan.
Mayor Ken Welch’s administration has said it is taking action on deferred upgrades to the city’s aging infrastructure. The need, Welch has said, was laid bare by back-to-back hurricanes in 2024 that caused historic flooding and led to the temporary shutdown of two of the city’s three sewage plants to avoid further damage.
Joe Craig, a board member of the Venetian Isles Homeowners Association, said homes are being sold at a discount because flooding has driven down home values. The investments funded by the referendum would help home values rebound and give money back to the taxpayer.
“St. Petersburg as a whole will be a more desirable place to live for everyone,” Craig said.
Representatives from the Suncoast Sierra Club and the Council of Neighborhood Associations voiced support for the referendum. A speaker from the League of Women Voters of the St. Petersburg Area said in order for the organization to be in support, the city should commit to meaningful public participation and consider making information about the bond referendum easily accessible.
While the city is barred from using public resources to appeal to voters, the groups could do that advocacy work.
Those groups still say the city could do more to increase transparency about how the money will be spent and clearly communicate what the referendum would and would not do. They’d also like to see the money go toward natural solutions, such as rain gardens planted in low spots in the landscape where water tends to pool and culverts that include vegetation to catch runoff.
Community groups have been meeting with city staff to voice these concerns. Suncoast Sierra Club Executive Committee Chair James Scott wrote in a letter that the group’s support “will remain contingent on visible, timely follow-through.”
Council member Richie Floyd proposed a slate of recommendations to address those concerns. He proposed taking the first steps to create a public-facing dashboard detailing the city’s work, establishing a citizen-led advisory board and giving equal consideration to nature-based solutions to protect against intensifying storms.
The council approved his requests before deciding on the ballot language.
Whether or not the referendum passes, the city is moving forward with a priority list of $2.7 billion in drainage and water projects that would take 24 years to finish based on current utility billing rates. With a $600 million infusion from a new property tax, that timeline would shorten to 19 years.
Examples of potential projects include expanding capacity in canals, creeks and ditches and increasing storage through interconnected ponds and stormwater pump stations to reduce flood risk. Replacing pipes and upgrading systems could prevent drinking water disruptions during severe storms. Elevating equipment and building facilities that could withstand Category 5 hurricane winds could keep sewage plants from going offline and backing up into homes.
Vanessa Pugliese, president of the Riviera Bay Civic Association, a neighborhood flooded by the 2024 hurricanes, asked what would happen if voters statewide approve a measure to increase the tax exemption on primary residences.
“We would like to have our voters be educated before they vote on what this is going to cost them, because the cost of housing and the cost of living in St. Petersburg is very high right now,” she said.
Assistant City Administrator Tom Greene said the state ballot measure would reduce the city’s pool of taxable properties if it passes. In that case, higher-value properties may see larger bills.
The council approved the referendum language as the Suncoast Sierra Club announced its endorsement in the mayor’s race ahead of the primary election Aug. 18. The group chose council member Brandi Gabbard over Welch and other candidates in the mayor’s race.
Suncoast Sierra Club did not endorse any candidate in the 2021 mayoral primary. Welch won the club’s endorsement ahead of the November 2021 general election.
Club leaders said they would make another endorsement if Gabbard does not make the runoff election.
Editor’s note: This story has been corrected to reflect the League of Women Voters of the St. Petersburg Area’s position on the bond referendum, James Scott’s title and the name of the Riviera Bay Civic Association.
