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Council hears public concern over whether autopay fees should be borne by users or the town
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Summary
A member of the public asked at the April meeting why transaction or administrative fees for the town's third-party Express Bill Pay service are not charged only to users. Council and staff explained the town contracted for the service, that fees are billed to the town, and asked staff to provide usage data before any policy change is considered.
During public comment at the Meadow Town Council's April meeting, a resident challenged the town's practice of paying fees associated with a third-party autopay service (referred to in the meeting as Express Bill Pay) and asked whether the charge should be billed only to users of the service.
The commenter said, "Why should everyone be penalized for the ones that want to use that service?" and suggested the administrative cost should be added only to accounts that choose autopay. Town officials answered that the council previously approved participating in the third-party service and that the town pays an administrative fee for the convenience and operational savings the service provides.
Staff and council members explained the service both reduces the number of paper checks the town processes and can lower returned-check handling time; staff said it has reduced workload for the clerk's office. In discussion, staff said the town is billed monthly and the fee can fluctuate with usage. A staff member reported that about $11,000 was processed through Express Bill Pay in the previous month and that roughly 80–90 users subscribe (staff said a precise report could be produced on request).
No policy change was made. Council members said the question could be added to a future agenda if members want to consider charging autopay users directly; they asked staff to gather data on how many accounts use the service and the monthly fees the town is billed.
Ending: Staff agreed to prepare usage and billing reports on Express Bill Pay and to return to the council with options for whether the town should absorb the administrative fee or assign it to users.