ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Residents who want a say in how St. Petersburg spends its new $600 million water bond now have a way in. The city is filling every seat on two newly created citizen panels, 12 on a GO Bond Advisory Committee and nine on a Resilience Advisory Committee.
Voters approved the general obligation bond on Nov. 3 to pay for stormwater, wastewater and drinking water projects. The bond committee will look over staff reports on spending, project timelines and budgets, check that the money goes where voters were told it would, review any outside audit and hold a yearly public forum. Its first written annual report to City Council is due in January 2028. One member will come from each of the eight council districts, and four seats go to people with backgrounds such as engineering, water resources, public finance or construction management. Nobody on the panel, and none of their employers or close relatives, can hold a contract paid for by the bond.
The resilience panel will weigh in on the city’s nature-based infrastructure plan and its Flood Risk Adaptation Plan, and give residents a place to raise concerns about storm surge, extreme heat and shoreline conditions. Four of its members are to bring technical expertise, while five should have lived through flooding, heat, storm damage or money trouble.
Both panels are advisory only. The mayor picks the members and the council must sign off; they serve staggered three-year terms with a two-term cap and meet at least once a quarter in public. Anyone applying needs a minimum of one year of city residency and cannot be city employees or elected officials. Council adopted resolutions creating both committees on Oct. 15.
The openings come as Mayor-elect Charlie Crist begins recruiting for his incoming administration. Crist opposed the bond referendum during the campaign but has committed to carrying out the projects and backing the bond committee, and he is now taking resumes for city boards and transition roles while planning for roughly $35 million less in next year’s budget.
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