ST. PETE BEACH — Reclaimed water customers in St. Pete Beach will pay $12.50 more a month after city commissioners unanimously approved a rate increase aimed at keeping the system solvent.
The ordinance, passed on second reading, raises the monthly charge from $25 to $37.50 for fiscal 2027, which began Oct. 1. Customers are billed every two months through Pinellas County, so a single-family home’s bill rises from $50 to $75.
The system brings in about $1.1 million a year, a figure expected to stay relatively flat over the next five years, Kathleen Murray, a management analyst in the City Manager’s Office, told commissioners. Operating expenses, meanwhile, have grown an average of more than 16% a year since 2021 and are projected to rise about 4.5% annually over the next five years.
To close the gap, the city has been moving money from its general fund into the reclaimed water fund.
“Continuing to rely on general fund transfers is not a sustainable long-term approach, particularly as operating costs continue to increase and the system requires ongoing investment,” Murray said.
City staff has drafted a multiyear plan to gradually put the fund on firmer financial footing, but the ordinance sets rates for fiscal 2027 only, Murray said. Future increases will go before the commission each year during the budget process “rather than the current commission establishing rates on behalf of a future commission,” she said.
Those later increases are expected to be smaller, she said.
The city has about 2,900 reclaimed water accounts and expects little growth. Voters approved financing and building the system in June 1992. The city owns it, and Pinellas County Utilities handles operations and maintenance.
Charges are based on equivalent residential units, or ERUs, assigned to each property. A single-family home counts as one ERU. Multifamily and commercial properties are assigned ERUs based on the permeable square footage of the lot and pay $37.50 a month for each.
Property owners can connect by applying to the city and paying a $75 activation fee. Connecting a residential 1-inch reclaimed water meter costs $756. Customers must keep the service for at least five years before asking to disconnect and stopping or restarting service costs $75.
Because of the ongoing drought, watering is prohibited from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., city officials said. Addresses ending in an even number may water on Tuesdays, and those ending in an odd number on Thursdays. Properties without an address, such as common areas, entryways, office complexes and shopping centers, may water only on Thursdays.
Also prohibited: hosing down driveways, other hard surfaces or buildings when another method could be used, and hand-watering a lawn on a restricted day or more than once a day.
Pinellas County Utilities can issue a $193 citation for a violation, and the fine doubles with each subsequent violation, county officials said.