Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Municipal Finance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Mill Creek council approves resolution allowing credit-card convenience fee; vote 5-1
Summary
Council adopted a resolution authorizing the implementation of a service/convenience fee on credit-card transactions, extending the practice across more city services (vote 5-1). Members debated the equity impact on residents who rely on credit cards and asked staff to explore alternative payment options.
The Mill Creek City Council voted 5-1 on Jan. 6 to approve a resolution authorizing the implementation of a service or convenience fee on credit-card transactions. The measure formalizes a policy to recover processing costs that staff said the city absorbed previously.
Management analyst Adrian Garcia said the resolution builds on the December master fee schedule and enables staff to pass processing fees to paying customers for in-person, phone, or online payments when the city incurs processing fees. Finance Director Ermina Lombad told council that the city paid roughly $1,160 per month in credit-card fees in 2024 for some services and that certain systems (such as ActiveNet for recreation) already pass on fees to users. She also noted the OpenGov permitting system would use Stripe and could be configured to pass fees to customers.
Several council members raised equity concerns. Council member Steckler argued that passing fees onto customers penalizes residents who use credit cards out of necessity. Others urged staff to preserve options to pay by check or cash where practicable and asked staff to study whether alternative payment paths could be offered for recreation customers using ActiveNet.
After discussion and a motion to adopt the resolution, the council approved the measure 5-1. Staff said they will implement changes consistent with the city’s policy to recover costs and will continue to evaluate payment options and community impacts.
