Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Utilities Finance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Commission approves one-year extension for water-bill payment vendor after debate over convenience fee and consumer hardship
Summary
After debate about a proposed increase in the online payment convenience fee, commissioners approved a short-term contract extension with conditions and asked the administration to explore a relief option for low-income residents.
Miami-Dade County commissioners on March 4 approved a temporary extension of the county’s electronic payment processing contract for water and sewer bills after a heated discussion about a new convenience fee the vendor proposed to charge customers.
The dispute began after the vendor ACI sought a higher per-transaction convenience fee to cover the increased costs of processing large, high-value card transactions. ACI representative Tony Carmona told the board that the company’s costs rise steeply for very large payments because card interchange and bank fees are percentage-based and can be substantial on commercial accounts that pay tens of thousands of dollars at once.
Interim Water and Sewer Director Amanda Kinnick told commissioners the administration negotiated to remove the fee increase in one of the proposed options, but that the vendor warned it would no longer support debit- and credit-card processing without an adjustment. Under the chosen approach — the supplementary material presented to the commission as the administration’s Option 2 — ACI will continue services while the county issues a competitive solicitation. The board also set an expedited procurement timeline and asked staff to pursue relief for financially vulnerable customers.
Commissioners asked whether residents would face water cutoffs if the county did not immediately re-establish a vendor. The mayor’s office and county officials said it was not the administration’s intent to disconnect service and that the mayor would use available emergency resources if needed.
Several commissioners asked the administration to use the county’s WASDE CARES fund to reimburse eligible residents for the incremental convenience fee while the county completes a new solicitation. County officials agreed to explore that option and to return with the mechanics of such relief. The board set an aspirational target to advertise the new payment solicitation within about 90 days.
The motion to extend the contract with the vendor under the administration’s recommended approach, with the amendments described on the record, passed by the board.
