Nisswa council asks for data before deciding whether city businesses should pass credit-card fees to customers

Councilors spent an extended portion of the workshop debating whether the city should permit or require its municipal businesses to pass credit-card processing fees to customers to reduce operating costs. The proposed 2026 budgets included an increase in projected credit-card fees for municipal retail and liquor operations, with staff saying the budget currently reflects a worst-case processing-fee scenario.

Jesse stated plainly, “I’m in favor of passing along to the customer,” grounding his view in the notion that many local businesses already do so. Brian, who manages or presented the Spirits and retail spreadsheets, cautioned the council he had budgeted a worst-case processing-fee number and said, “I would like to see our credit card processing go down, but I can never guarantee that.” Mark noted municipal examples and operational experience: “We charged off all of our fees onto the customers and had no problems with it.”

Other council members warned of potential customer backlash and urged more facts before changing pricing policy for public enterprises. Several members favored piloting or limiting any passthrough to off-sale transactions rather than bar or on-premises sales. The council instructed staff to consult industry groups (for example, the Minnesota Municipal Beverage Association was mentioned) and return with data on how such fees affect sales and municipal revenue before the final December levy and budget adoption.

No policy change was adopted at the workshop; staff were asked to provide numbers and options for the council’s December decision.