Vacaville council approves 2.65% service fee for permitting payments via new TrackIt system

The Vacaville City Council on Jan. 28 adopted a resolution to implement an electronic payment service fee for TrackIt community‑development transactions. The fee will be 2.65% of the transaction for credit or debit cards and $1 for ACH/eCheck, and will be implemented when the updated TrackIt permitting software goes live (staff said that is expected with the March go‑live date).

Ken Matsamy, the city finance director, reviewed the rationale: “the proposed fee is based off of the amount that would be charged by the payment processor, and so that's 2.65% for credit card or debit card transactions or a dollar for ACH or eCheck transactions.” He told council the fee level is in the range used by other agencies and that state law permits passing the cost to the user; staff said the authority cited is “state government code section 6159h” in the presentation.

Matsamy said the city currently absorbs roughly $500,000 annually in merchant‑processing fees across all departments and that TrackIt’s card fees have averaged $30,000–$50,000 in prior years. Staff emphasized cash and check payments will continue to be accepted at City Hall with no fee.

Council members asked operational questions about whether American Express would be included, how the fixed ACH/eCheck fee would be applied, and whether the charge would vary by specific card merchant rate; staff said the 2.65% is a flat pass‑through for all card transactions and ACH/eCheck would be $1 regardless of amount. Matsamy told the council the city currently does not accept American Express because of higher rates but the new fee would cover it.

A member of the public warned of impacts on lower‑income residents and those who rely on bank transfers: “we'll be tacking on another tax for the convenience of that government agency because they don't wanna deal with the check, but, you know, you'll have to use a credit card and you will pay that 2.65% regardless.” Council members and staff said future proposals for other city payment systems (for utilities, business licenses, etc.) would return to council for discussion.

Council adopted the resolution by motion and voice vote; individual roll‑call tallies were not recorded in the meeting transcript.

Why it matters: The decision shifts card processing costs for permitting and planning payments from the city budget to the individual payers of those services; staff framed the change as one tool to rein in deficit spending and to align with fees charged by peer agencies.