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Council directs staff to study eliminating ACH/EFT utility transaction fees and report back
Summary
After questioning from council and public, staff agreed to research whether the city can stop passing a 43-cent ACH/EFT processing fee to utility customers and return with contract, cost and implementation options before the June billing cycle.
Vice Mayor Pontieri raised a policy question about the city's practice of passing a transaction processing fee to utility customers who pay via card or certain electronic payment methods. The current posted fees are 43 cents for ACH and a separate merchant-services fee for credit/debit card payments.
Council discussed whether removing the small ACH/EFT surcharge would encourage wider use of automated payments and whether the city or the payment processor could absorb the cost. Acting City Manager said staff needs to examine contract terms with the third-party payment vendor and return with a legal and fiscal analysis. "If you don't mind just providing me the direction that you would like to go forward with, let us go back and look at the mechanics within those contracts and see what we can do, what we can't do, and then what would maybe need to come back to you for official approval," staff said on the record.
Vice Mayor Pontieri made a motion to eliminate the ACH/EFT fees; he later withdrew the motion and asked staff to return no later than the next council meeting with options and the fiscal impact so council can decide whether the fee can be removed in time for the June billing cycle. Council members emphasized resident outreach and education about alternative fee-free methods (for example, bank-issued bill pay, which can avoid third-party processing charges).
Why it matters: the item is a near-term budget and customer-service question: the council wants staff to determine whether the 43-cent ACH/EFT processing fee can be eliminated without breaching vendor contracts or causing material budget impacts; staff said it would provide a cost analysis and contractual review and return with recommended implementation steps.
