Council hears staff proposal to add $3.50 recovery fee for many city credit‑card transactions

City finance staff asked the council on Jan. 27 to adopt a standardized, transaction recovery approach to credit‑card processing costs.

Jay (finance) explained the city uses multiple payment gateways across city services (Tyler Technologies gateway for City Hall functions, another system at the waterpark and a variety of point‑of‑sale processors for parks facilities). Staff said the Tyler‑processed transactions have an average ticket of about $197 and a merchant fee equivalent to roughly 1.8%; that produces an average per‑transaction cost of approximately $3.56. The recommendation is a $3.50 flat fee for Tyler gateway transactions to recover processing costs, and full cost recovery at certain parks and aquatic operations (NRH2O already collects and remits a comparable fee).

Staff said the recommendation is to make the fee explicitly cost‑recovery (not a revenue source) and to offer ACH or debit options so residents can avoid the fee. Councilmembers asked about legal limits (a statutory cap to 5% of the transaction); staff confirmed the proposed level is under that cap.

For parks and small‑ticket retail (concessions, candy, etc.), staff proposed a different approach because a flat $3.50 fee is not practical for low‑price items. Council asked staff to refine implementation plans and draft ordinance language; no ordinance or fee was adopted on Jan. 27.

Ending: Staff will prepare ordinance language and implementation details showing which gateways and payment types will be assessed, alternatives for residents to avoid fees (ACH) and how the program will be administered; council did not vote on the fee at this meeting.