Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Fees And Finance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Finance director proposes citywide non‑sufficient‑fund fee; commission asks for manager appeal process
Summary
The city’s finance director proposed a uniform non‑sufficient‑fund (NSF) charge across divisions to recoup bank and staff costs; commissioners asked staff to include a manager‑level appeal or forgiveness procedure before bringing a resolution of intent to the commission.
Director Danielson presented a proposal to the Helena City Commission on March 19 to standardize the city’s non‑sufficient‑fund (NSF) fee across divisions. Danielson said the city’s primary bank (U.S. Bank) charges the city $25 for returned items and that staff time and mailing costs to follow up average about a half hour and roughly $40 in city costs per incident.
"Our primary bank, which is US Bank, charges the city $25 for any returned check that is listed as non sufficient funds," Danielson said, and staff calculations added postage and half an hour of staff time to reach the $40 approximate cost to the city.
Danielson proposed a consistent NSF fee in fee schedules across city divisions, excluding municipal court because it uses a different bank account and contract. She asked the commission to direct staff to bring a resolution of intent at the next meeting to adopt a uniform NSF fee.
One commissioner asked whether an appeal or forgiveness process could be part of the policy for extenuating circumstances (e.g., sudden job loss). Danielson said a city manager variance procedure could be drafted and included in the resolution of intent for consideration; commissioners concurred with adding an appeal/forgiveness mechanism and instructed staff to include that language.
No final fee amount or commission vote was adopted at the March 19 meeting; staff will prepare a resolution of intent that includes proposed fee language and the manager variance/appeal process for future commission consideration.
