Affordability

Everyone I meet agrees that affordability is the number one issue facing our city and our nation.

I served as Governor during the Great Recession, and I was the last person to actually address the property tax issue in our state when I doubled our homestead exemptions. I signed into law House Bill 5B allowing  voters to consider Amendment 1, which included an additional homestead benefit, limited property value increases for non-homesteaded property, and created portability for the Save Our Homes program (caps property tax assessment increases at 3% annually) that allows homeowners to transfer their existing homestead exemption when they move into a new home. The Amendment was approved by voters in January 2008.

No Governor has successfully addressed making property taxes more affordable since then. 

As St. Petersburg continues to rebuild and property values continue their upward trajectory, ad valorem revenue is projected to keep growing. That projected growth is exactly what makes responsible millage relief possible, without cutting essential services or compromising storm recovery. This presents an opportunity to pass real financial relief onto our residents via millage rate reductions. 

The current administration will point to four small millage rate cuts as evidence of tax relief. But those cuts amounted to a reduction of just 0.30 mills – less than 5% – while ad valorem revenue grew by more than 50% over the same period. Residents felt the increases. The “relief” was statistical.

As Governor, I also signed legislation expanding the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund, preventing insurance companies from raising rates without state approval, dropping policyholders during hurricane season, and from delaying payment of claims. As a result, statewide homeowners’ insurance premiums declined 10% from 2007 to 2010.

A recurring theme in my career is fighting cost-of-living battles through public-private partnerships and transparency tools rather than through price caps or direct government spending.

As Governor, I proved my willingness to tackle issues of affordability in creative ways. In 2008, Florida had an estimated 3.8 million residents without health insurance; Florida’s uninsured rate was the third-highest in the nation. I worked to address this problem by creating the Cover Florida Healthcare Access Program. 

I worked directly with six insurance companies to allow them to offer more affordable plans. In exchange for lifting some government mandates, insurers were required to offer at least two plans – one with catastrophic and hospital coverage, and one without. Each Cover Florida plan included a minimum set of benefits covering preventative services, screenings, office visits, outpatient and inpatient surgery, urgent care and prescription drugs. Cover Florida plans started at about $150 a month compared to the typical $600 a month for standard private insurance at the time. The Legislature passed the plan unanimously. The plan did not use any tax dollars. 

I have also worked throughout my career to address the cost of prescription drugs to make them more affordable for Floridians. As Attorney General, I launched MyFloridaRX.com, where Floridians could compare drug prices between pharmacies. As Governor, I leveraged the strength of the office to negotiate lower prices for Floridians and created the Florida Discount Drug Card Program. Rather than creating a government subsidy, I established a public-private partnership with Envision Pharmaceutical Services (EPS) that made the discounts possible. EPS, a pharmacy benefits manager, secured volume discounts on prescription drugs and passed savings onto consumers. Participating pharmacies had to agree to the negotiated prices. No tax dollars were used to make the Florida Discount Drug Card available; the program funded itself. If the pharmacy’s usual price was lower than the Florida Discount Drug price, the customer paid the lower price. Additionally, if the customer qualified for any other prescription discounts, they would always pay the lowest price. At launch, the program targeted seniors and lower-income Floridians without drug coverage. Within the first year, more than 3,000 retail pharmacies agreed to accept the Florida Discount Drug Card. In one of my final major acts as Governor, I opened the program to everyone: no age limit, no income requirements. There were no waiting periods, no pre-existing condition restrictions, no membership fees, and the card instantly activated. The program still operates today at FloridaRXCard.com.

Alongside the drug card, I launched a consumer health information portal. The website, developed by the Agency for Health Care Administration, integrated FloridaCompareCare.gov and FloridaHealthStat.com into FloridaHealthFinder.gov. There, consumers can find information on more than 1,600 diseases and conditions, lists of health care facilities, information about insurance, medications, and a variety of consumer publications.

I have always been a consumer advocate and will continue to be one as Mayor. I have a proven track record of success leveraging my office to benefit my constituents. I’ve always been willing to find market-based solutions to better serve the people I represent, and I’ll do it again for the people of St. Petersburg as we continue to face an affordability crisis.

In recent years, the city has also experienced challenges with its water billing, with some residents, particularly after the 2024 hurricanes, getting hit with unexpected bills that were in many cases triple or more their typical cost.

The Water Cost Stabilization Fund was established 27 years ago to mitigate cost increases to citizens’ water bills. It currently has about $85 million and remains untouched. Some of those funds could be used to install new water meters, allowing citizens to view their water usage online and prevent surprise bills due to unknown leaks. Funds could also be used to identify problems with existing water meters, a problem that came to light after many residents displaced by hurricanes received triple their usual water bills for vacant homes. 

While St. Petersburg is currently exploring an Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) program, we are woefully behind Pinellas County, which is already installing digital meters, and Pinellas Park, which uses the application “Eye on Water,” where residents can track daily and hourly water use online or via phone.

The city is currently losing approximately $4 million dollars a year in water it is providing but not billing for due to infrastructure issues. There was an unsolicited proposal to provide these meters as a service. The vendor would obtain all financing, install and maintain the meters. Council voted unanimously to approve  the proposal, but the Mayor’s office delayed the project because they believe they can get it done at a lower cost. But the delay means the city is continuing to lose money and is not providing relief to our residents. 

As Mayor, I will make it a priority to get the AMI program online.