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Council approves service-fee amendment to Tyler payments for permitting and licensing
Summary
Council voted 8-0 to authorize the mayor to sign an amendment to the city’s Tyler online payments contract establishing a minimum service fee (3.95% or $2.50 minimum) so the city will not continue to absorb card transaction costs for permit and licensing payments.
City staff requested and Council approved an amendment to the city’s Tyler (EP and L) online payments contract to establish a service fee for credit-card transactions on enterprise permitting and licensing transactions.
The nut graf: the city had been absorbing credit-card transaction costs for permits, licenses and related fees after switching to Tyler’s online EP and L module; staff projected the ongoing cost to the city at about $45,000 annually and presented a contract amendment to apply a minimum service fee to customers.
According to the staff memo, prior practice had been to pass card fees to customers for some departments; under the current Tyler configuration the city absorbed the fee. The city manager’s memo said the projected annual cost to absorb these fees was approximately $45,000, subject to variation depending on card use. The proposed amendment sets a minimum service fee of 3.95% with a $2.50 minimum per transaction — the same fee model the city was already using for tax payments.
A council member moved that the council authorize the mayor to sign the contract amendment establishing the service fee; the motion passed 8-0. City staff said no additional funding was required for the authorization, and the finance director remained available to answer follow-up questions about impact to operating funds.
