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Finance director seeks fixed‑asset module and staff; council debates passing $122,700 credit‑card fees to customers
Summary
Finance Director Rosie presented needs including a $5,000 fixed‑asset module, a folding machine, and two staff positions. Council members questioned whether the city should absorb $122,730 in annual credit‑card processing fees or pass them to customers; opinions were split.
Rosie, the city’s finance director, presented the finance department’s FY 2025–26 budget requests at the Manville City Council workshop on July 21 and asked the council to consider a modest fixed‑asset software module, small equipment purchases, and two staff positions.
Rosie proposed an ENCODE fixed‑asset module priced at $5,000 the first year and $800 recurring, a mail‑folding machine costing roughly $4,000 to reduce staff time folding and stuffing hundreds to thousands of invoices, a staff accountant at about $70,000 plus benefits, and a grant coordinator at about $52,000 plus benefits.
Why it matters: The finance team said its workload has risen with population and utility growth; the department processed roughly 3,950 invoices year‑to‑date and serves 2,024 utility accounts. The proposed fixed‑asset module would let staff track purchases, disposals and depreciation in‑house rather than rely on outside accounting firms.
Credit‑card fee debate: A major discussion focused on rising credit‑card processing fees. Rosie reported credit‑card fees of about $122,730 for the current year (projected to rise). Several council members argued that passing fees to customers who choose card payments would reduce costs and could fund one or more requested positions. Others cautioned that charging customers might discourage timely payments or create burdens for residents. Council directed staff to place a formal agenda item in a future meeting so council can consider whether to adopt a fee schedule.
Other details and follow up: Council members asked for more detailed KPIs for the proposed new positions and asked whether a grant coordinator role would produce sufficient revenue to offset its cost; Rosie said recent grant awards (for example a generator grant of about $400,000 and FEMA reimbursements tied to Hurricane-related work) show grant funding can cover large projects and could help justify the role. Rosie also said staff aims to bring fixed‑assets management in‑house because the current vendor’s worksheet aggregates purchases instead of tracking individual assets.
Ending: Council did not take an immediate vote but asked staff to return with more detailed cost‑benefit analysis for the proposed positions and to add an agenda item on whether the city should impose credit‑card convenience fees or continue to absorb them.
