Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Municipal Budget topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee approves $66,500 appropriation to cover payment processing, postage and resident stickers
Summary
Everett City committee voted to send to full council a $66,500 appropriation from the general fund to cover e-check processing fees, resident stickers, postage and lockbox services after staff said the amount should cover year-end costs.
The Everett City committee voted to forward to the full City Council a $66,500 appropriation from the general fund balance to the treasury collector’s "other expenses" account to cover remaining-year e-check processing fees, resident stickers, postage and lockbox services.
Councilor Van Campen introduced the request, saying the appropriation is necessary to cover e-check fees for the remainder of the fiscal year as well as costs for resident stickers, postage and lockbox services. Councilor DePiro and Councilor Garcia said they would prefer the city continue to require residents to pay credit-card processing fees but supported the city covering the 50¢ e-check charge to reduce burdens on residents.
CFO Eric Demas told the committee that e-check fees are passed through at the time of transaction and not retained by the city. He said e-checks are currently the most popular payment method, with roughly 16,000 such transactions a year, and that the 50¢ fee had prompted some residents to avoid on-line payments, increasing mailed checks and lockbox costs and creating longer lines in the collector’s office. Demas said the treasurer and collector expect the requested $66,500 to be sufficient through fiscal year-end, with a small buffer.
A motion for favorable action was made and seconded. The clerk called the roll; the record shows three ayes (Councillor Smith, Councillor DePietro, Councillor Patzia) and the item was approved to go to the full City Council meeting next Monday.
The committee’s discussion and the CFO’s explanation framed the choice as one between maintaining an existing user-pay approach for credit-card processing fees while absorbing the smaller e-check charge to reduce administrative burdens and in-person traffic at City Hall. The committee did not change policy on credit-card fees in this meeting; the appropriation covers operational costs through the end of the fiscal year and will be considered by the full council.
