Tell the Bay County Commissioners that the retail water/sewage rates must be lowered. Residents in unincorporated areas deserve just and equitable rates.

The county has imposed a 50% increase in water and sewage rates for unincorporated Bay County (outside city limits) since March 2014. These rates will continue to rise every October if you don’t get involved.

Due to mismanagement of the water utilities, Bay County is burdening a tiny percentage of the county's population with a $29 Million debt. The 5200 customers in unincorporated Bay County, also known as the “retail” customers, have been saddled with this $29 Million debt. As a result, these families have seen huge increases in their water/sewage bills. Everyone in Bay County uses the same water, but only 5200 households are being burdened with the infrastructure debt. Infrastructure debts are meant to be shared by the entire county population of 174,000, not just 5200 families. These families are also being penalized by tiered rates, meaning the more water they use, the more they pay per gallon, so large families are being unfairly targeted. Only the unincorporated areas are subject to tiered rates.

If the $29 Million debt was shared by the entire county like other infrastructure debt is, the amount charged to each household would be virtually unnoticeable, but instead, they've chosen to burden 5200 families with water bills that are sometimes higher than their electricity bills and car payments!

Some rate comparisons between unincorporated Bay County and cities:

Bay County: Total water/sewage bill for usage of 7000 gallons plus paying separately for trash is $172.

Lynn Haven: Total water/sewage bill for usage of 7000 gallons plus weekly trash pickup is $104.

Panama City Beach: Total water/sewage bill for usage of 7000 gallons plus paying separately for trash is $84.36.

Panama City: Total water/sewage bill for usage of 7000 gallons plus twice weekly trash pickup and once weekly yard debris removal is $108.