GROVELAND, Fla. – City leaders in Groveland are working to get answers to residents who recently received unexpectedly higher than normal water bills.
Mayor Keith Keogh is holding a workshop on Monday to respond to concerns about October utility bills, address how revenue will be spent, and talk about inconsistent billing cycles.
In August, the city council increased rates by an average of 40 percent to build two water plants and make upgrades to improve aging infrastructure.
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“We’ve gotten to the point where we do have to upgrade our infrastructure and we also have to plan for our future,” city spokesperson Lorri Shaban said.
While an increase in water bills was expected, some residents saw their bill more than double from the previous month.
“We’re looking into a number of different factors. Everything from potentially extended billing cycles to the way that data is collected,” Shaban said.
The city said Hurricane Milton may have had an impact on extended billing cycles and has asked its water services provider to help determine what’s causing the usage spikes.
Extra staff has also been added to help return phone calls and emails to utility billing in a timely manner.
The workshop to address water issues will be held at the Puryear Building Monday at 6 p.m.
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