Alsip trustees signal consensus to replace $3 flat card fee with 3% convenience charge

Trustees at a March 31 Alsip committee meeting indicated consensus to amend the village ordinance that now assesses a $3 flat convenience fee for credit‑card transactions, moving to a 3% charge on card users instead. Mayor John D. Ryan said the change reflects rising processing costs: “In the month of January we had almost $42,000 in transactions…our fees were $1,171,” he said, arguing the flat charge increasingly shifts processing costs to the village.

The move was raised by Trustee McLauren, who reviewed neighboring suburbs’ approaches and noted the current $3 fee has been in place since 2009. McLauren said the board should modernize the ordinance so costs tracked to card use are borne by card users rather than taxpayers.

Trustees debated practical details before a formal ordinance is drafted. Members raised two operational cautions: (1) state and card‑network rules limit surcharging some debit‑card transactions, so terminal programming must distinguish debit versus credit flows; and (2) different card brands and payment types (for example, American Express or convenience‑fee online transactions) carry different assessment rates. Mayor Ryan noted the village is switching bank platforms and needs terminal reprogramming before finalizing the code change.

Clerk Harding will place a formal ordinance amendment on next week’s agenda for a vote after technical adjustments to payment terminals and confirmation that point‑of‑sale systems can treat debit and credit appropriately. The board took a recorded consensus to proceed with drafting the 3% ordinance; a formal vote is expected when the ordinance is introduced.