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Neosho council approves one-year payment-processing agreement with CSG Forte, directs service option
Summary
The City of Neosho approved a one-year agreement with CSG Forte Payments to provide credit- and debit-card payment processing and directed staff to implement the non-gateway option that can be expanded to include water payments; council cited potential annual savings and a May rate review to avoid double-charging customers.
The Neosho City Council on Nov. 5 approved an agreement with CSG Forte Payments Inc. that will change how the city processes credit- and debit-card payments and allow the council to pass transaction fees directly to customers.
City staff briefed the council on two options in the contract packet: a CivicPay online application that passes processing fees to the customer (currently excluding in-person water payments until terminals are added), and a gateway setup that would link Forte to the city’s existing merchant bank, First Community, but impose a monthly gateway fee and a $0.25 per-transaction charge. ‘‘Last year, we paid $13,185 to First Community in processing fees,’’ the presenter said, noting about 21,914 annual credit-card transactions were listed in the bid packet. Staff said moving all services into Forte could eliminate most city fees outside the cost of physical terminals.
Council members debated service continuity and customer impact. One council member asked whether adding the water department to the Forte application would increase city costs; staff replied that adding terminals would be required but that including water would still be less expensive overall because fees would be passed to customers. Mayor Davidson summarized the financial trade-off: "So it's $4,000 if we lump it all. If we split it and don't change water, it's an extra 9,000 because those fees continue to come in that we're not passing on." Another staff member emphasized operational continuity: "There is absolutely no fees to the city outside of the purchase of the physical terminal," and staff said the company can implement the change in roughly two to three weeks after final approvals and typical 30-day termination windows with current vendors.
Council voted 7–0 to approve Council Bill 2024-95 and gave direction to proceed with the non-gateway option and to include water services by adding terminals. Staff said they will return with implementation details and that the council will review utility rate assumptions in May so customer charges originally built into current water rates can be adjusted and not double-counted.
What happens next: staff will implement the contract per council direction, add terminals if the full-service option is selected, update online payment links, and report back with finalized cost impacts and any recommended rate adjustments for the water department at a future meeting.
