Petition to Request Intervention from Local Regulatory Bodies in Polk City’s Fountain Park Community Residents

Title: Petition to Address Overcharging for Water Usage by Polk City Utilities Department

Introduction:

We, the undersigned residents of Community Fountain Park in Polk City Florida, are writing to express our serious concerns regarding the overcharging for sewer/water usage by the Polk City Water Utilities Department. We request an immediate investigation and intervention by the Florida Public Service Commission (FPSC), Polk City Council or Mayor, Florida Office of the Attorney General - Consumer Protection Division and Polk City Utilities Department.

Details of the Issue:

• Polk City Utilities department does not practice disclosure of cost per unit of water usage to their consumers. Water usage amounts are disclosed in Utility bills in even numbers, which suggests an estimate is being made to charge citizens for the use of water of each property.
• During the month of June several residents of Fountain Park were billed for double or more of the previous month’s amounts “estimated”.
• Polk City Utilities department has been charging residents of FP a sewer charge for years with an undisclosed amount per unit of water usage, which seems to increase and decrease at their will without notice.
• Some residents claim their property has been vacant for most of the month and yet their water usage has doubled inexplicably. This is the case for numerous residents which rules out a possibility of an isolated event like a leak.
• PCUD does not provide periodical water meter readings to their consumers.
• Fountain Park residents in Polk City Inquired to the City Utilities department via telephone and their responses were inconsistent compared to different responses received by residents.
• The last Bill sent to citizens was closed with only 26 days of the month being accounted for and the usage amounts were significantly increased.
• FP residents have no ways to verify the actual usage of water of their properties and is subject to the estimate that PCUD decides to charge for.

Request for Action:

We respectfully request the following actions from the Regulatory Bodies

1. Conduct a thorough audit of the billing practices of the Polk City Water Utilities Department.
2. Ensure that any billing errors are corrected and that overcharged amounts are refunded to affected residents.
3. Implement measures to prevent future overcharging and to improve transparency in billing practices.

Contact Information for Petition Organizers:

• Name: Billys Pagan Perez
• Email: [email protected]
• Phone:

Signatures:

By signing this petition, we support the request for intervention to address the overcharging for water usage in our community.

Name

Address

Email

Phone Number

Signature

John Doe

123 Main St

[email protected]

(123) 456-7890

[Signature]

Jane Smith

456 Elm St

[email protected]

(123) 456-7891

[Signature]

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Additional Information:

• Provide any additional documents or evidence that support your claims, such as copies of water bills, correspondence with the water department, or testimonies from affected residents.

Instructions for Community Members:

1. Review the petition details.
2. Sign your name, provide your address, email, and phone number, and add your signature.
3. Share this petition with other community members who are affected by or concerned about the issue.
4. Submit the signed petition to [email protected]