Council reviews FY2026 adjustments and adopts consolidated fee schedule including 2.75% card processing fee
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Summary
Riverdale staff presented adjustments to the FY2026 budget and the council adopted a consolidated fee schedule that adds a 2.75% processing fee on most credit/debit transactions (utilities excluded), a flat $50 shutoff fee and other rate changes.
Riverdale City staff presented a summary of proposed adjustments to the city’s fiscal year 2026 budget on June 3, and council members adopted a consolidated fee schedule for 2025–2026 that makes several changes to fees and utility policies.
Staff summarized line‑item changes since a May 6 work session: a proposed $65,000 addition for outside professional services to help update municipal code (title 10/code updates), rollovers of uncompleted Class C road projects (approximately $500,000) and water projects (approximately $600,000) into FY2026, adjustments tied to the 1050 roundabout grant and local option fund increases, and stormwater fund changes (staff noted an approx. $113,000 adjustment listed in the packet). Staff told the council the certified tax rate from Davis County was not available at the time of the meeting and that the final budget adoption would include that figure.
On fees, the council approved Resolution 2025-20 adopting a consolidated fee schedule. Key elements adopted at the meeting include: - A 2.75% processing fee on credit and debit card transactions applied to most municipal transactions (explicitly excluding utility payments because of merchant‑account agreement constraints). - A flat $50 fee for utility shutoffs and reconnections to standardize administrative costs. - An increased after‑hours surcharge (move from $25 to $75) for on‑call or after‑hours service work. - Fire hydrant fee increase from $50 to $100 and higher commercial water tiers.
Staff explained the rationale for excluding utilities from the percentage fee: the city’s merchant agreement for utility payments provides discounted processing and could be violated by charging a percentage fee. Ambulance and court fine billing processes were discussed separately; staff said ambulance billing is handled in coordination with the contractor (Gold Cross) and that merchant fees for those transactions are managed through the city's merchant account.
Councilors asked staff to continue monitoring the merchant fee implementation and to report back after several months with actual impact data. Staff also cautioned that changes to shutoff practices can shift workload to the utility billing clerk; public‑works staff described steps the billing team takes — multiple notices, arrangements for payment plans and outreach — and said the $50 fee only modestly covers the labor and drive time for shutoff/reconnect work.
The fee schedule and budget adjustments passed unanimously at the June 3 meeting.
