Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Finance Payments topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council lowers credit/debit card surcharge; staff to refund overcharged amounts
Summary
After one month of data showed lower processing costs than projected, the council approved an ordinance lowering the city’s payment card surcharge from 2.45% to 1.5% and directed staff to credit customers for the difference.
The Walla Walla City Council on Feb. 26 adopted Ordinance 2025-03 to lower the surcharge applied to payments made by credit or debit card. Council approved the change after staff reported January transaction data showed the city's actual processing costs were lower than the 2.45% fee the council had previously adopted.
Finance staff presented January activity showing roughly $600,000 in card payments; processing fees collected were $12,436.10, an effective rate of about 2.07 percent. Staff told council that state law prohibits charging more than the city's actual processing cost. Finance recommended lowering the ordinance rate to 1.5 percent, giving staff time to collect more months of data before making further adjustments.
City staff said they will calculate the difference between amounts charged and the actual processing cost for January and subsequent months and will credit customers' utility or accounts-receivable accounts when billing cycles allow. The city reported a behavior change after the surcharge went into effect: more customers used eCheck, autopay enrollment increased and budget billing participation rose, which reduced the average processing rate.
Council approved the ordinance unanimously. Staff said they will return with additional data if the rate needs further adjustment.
