County surface water program faces extensive funding gap

Pinellas County officials are considering raising surface water assessment rates by 12% or borrowing millions from other initiatives to cover increasing operational costs and keep the program afloat.

Engineering firm Stantec found the surface water program faces an average $3.5 million annual funding gap over the next nine years. County commissioners and administrators discussed the evaluation’s initial findings and potential solutions at a Feb. 29 work session.

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Pinellas and Hillsborough solar co-ops launch

Solar United Neighbors launched its 2024 Pinellas and Hillsborough co-ops Feb. 29 to help local residents, businesses and nonprofit organizations to go solar.

“Our core mission at SUN is to help people go solar, join together and fight for energy democracy,” said Julia Herbst, Gulf Coast Program Associate for SUN.