Council Locks In New Zephyrhills Water, Sewer and Trash Rates; Higher Bills Start Nov. 1

Zephyrhills utility customers will pay more starting Nov. 1. At a 6 p.m. public hearing on Aug. 10 in Council Chambers at City Hall, 5335 8th Street, the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 1527-26, which throws out Section 51.23 of the city code and replaces it with a new schedule of rates and charges for potable water, wastewater and reclaimed water. The council also adopted Ordinance No. 1528-26, which repeals and replaces Section 50.40 to update what the Public Works Department's Sanitation Division charges to pick up your garbage.

The water and sewer ordinance applies to service on or after Nov. 1, 2026. Local news reports describe that change as a 3% increase, the same size step the council approved a year earlier.

What the council actually voted on

The third item on that agenda is the one developers were watching. Ordinance No. 1526-26 amends Part 11.01.00 of the Land Development Code, including Section 11.01.03 on completeness review and Section 11.01.04 on review and decision, plus Part 11.03.00 on subdivision review, Section 11.03.04 on the final record plat requirement, and Section 11.03.04.03 on approval procedure. In plain terms, it changes the steps a project has to clear before the city signs off on a plat.

How your bill is built

A Zephyrhills utility bill is not one number. Water is charged as a monthly base amount tied to your meter size, plus a usage charge per 1,000 gallons that climbs through five tiers for single-family homes. Sewer works the same way, with a base charge by meter size and a usage charge billed on 100% of metered water use. Customers outside the city limits pay a 25% surcharge on top.

That structure is why a flat percentage lands differently house to house. A retiree on a 3/4-inch meter using 3,000 gallons a month sees a smaller change than a family of five running irrigation into the higher blocks.

The city's Water/Sewer Rates page still displays the schedule that took effect Oct. 1, 2024, so the posted tables there do not yet reflect the new ordinance. Per the city's public notice, the full text of each ordinance is posted at City Hall and can be inspected weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Finance Department's number is 813-780-0000.

Why the increases keep coming

This is the second November in a row that rates have moved. When the council approved the previous 3% step in October 2025, the city's finance director told members the average residential bill at 4,100 gallons would rise about $2.05 per billing period, and that the money was needed to support roughly $20 million in water and sewer capital work. The pitch then was that small annual increases beat waiting and imposing a large one later. No members of the public spoke at that hearing.

The council's practice of pacing the increases traces back to a 2023 rate study prepared for the city by the consulting firm Raftelis, which is still linked from the city's utilities pages.

The budget side

The rate votes came the same afternoon as a 4:30 p.m. budget workshop, part of the city's work on the FY2026-27 spending plan. That plan is built on a property tax rate of 6.25 mills, the same rate the city has been using. Because assessed values in Zephyrhills have risen, holding the millage flat still means more revenue and, for many homeowners, a bigger tax bill.

The millage and the budget itself are not final. Under state law, the city has to hold tentative and final budget hearings in September before either is adopted, and those hearings are open to public comment. Residents who want to weigh in on how the utility revenue gets spent, rather than on the rates that are now set, should be watching that September calendar. Meeting agendas and notices are posted at zephyrhills.gov.

Keep up with city decisions that hit your wallet at Zephyrhills Community Website, and tell us what your November bill actually looks like when it lands. Join the conversation in our Community Forum, and read more government and politics stories or catch the latest local news.

Header photo: Ebyabe / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.5)