City officials say they have the money. Council members think more needs to be done.
City officials said at a council meeting that they had the funds for a $10.5 million plan to upgrade the city's pump stations to better prepare for hurricanes.
The city's mobility director, Vik Bhide, presented a $10.5 million plan to place generators at pump stations where they don't exist and building two new pump stations near the University area, where there was substantial flooding from Hurricane Milton.
The city, he said, also has a paving project on North Boulevard that is expected to be complete before summer that will help in moving stormwater in North Tampa. They also plan to stage employees at the city's Emergency Response Center in East Tampa to be among first responders to fix pump station problems.
Right now, Bhide said, the city has a radio-based system but hopesto upgrade to a cellular system and add live cameras for monitoring.
The plan would take around two years to implement, though if the city can move faster, it will, he said. The first priorities are the areas that saw the worst flooding.
In the interim, Bhide said the city is working on a $125,000 contract with Carter Electric to place temporary generators at 14 of the 16 existing pump stations by June 1, to be in place for next hurricane season. The generators will be raised above the last known flooding levels, he said.
Dennis Rogero, the city's chief financial officer, said the city had enough funds for the current year and could draw from a number of sources for future funding, including state and federal money expected to flow into the county.
Council member Alan Clendenin asked Rogero if the funding to the county could be rescinded by the new federal government.
"I would not rely on it until we have that cash in our hands," Rogero said.
Rogero said to his knowledge the county did not have the money yet.
Council member Luis Viera suggested letting citizens tour new pump stations ahead of the storm season to build trust.
Council member Bill Carlson said the city needs to focus on things beyond pumps and generators. In some areas, wastewater -- dealt with by a separate unit from stormwater -- flooded people's homes, he said.
"The overall solutions to prevent flooding, or deal with flooding, are much, much more complicated," he said.
The current levels of flooding, he said, may be the new normal.
In a separate matter, Council Member Gwen Henderson recommended that the City Council recognize at a future date Grammy winning artist Doechii, who graduated from Tampa's Blake High School.