Title
Consider adopting Ordinance No. 4010 amending portions of “Appendix A - Fee Schedule” of the Code of Ordinances relating to fees established pursuant to Chapter 66, “Solid Waste,” and Chapter 86, “Utilities”; increasing the credit card processing fee from 2.5% to 3.5%; renaming the existing trash fee as the “Landfill Closure Fee”; and take appropriate action.
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REQUESTOR:
Finance Department
Mayor Terry Lynne
BACKGROUND:
Periodic review of the City's fee schedule is vital to ensure fees remain transparent, consistent, and appropriately aligned with the actual cost of providing services. The City periodically reviews its fees to ensure they are clearly identified and appropriately structured to recover costs associated with providing City services and processing customer transactions.
Currently, the City charges a 2.5% processing fee for credit card purchases related to certain utility-related payments. The City’s current enterprise resource planning system does not have the functionality to apply the processing fee to customers enrolled in automatic payments. Consequently, the fee is not collected on all credit card transactions, although the City incurs processing costs for those payments.
Additionally, the City’s current fee is identified as the “Trash Fee,” which may create confusion regarding the purpose and intended use of the revenue collected. The fee is intended to fund the City’s landfill closure and post-closure obligations associated with the eventual closure of the City-owned landfill. Maintaining adequate funding for these future obligations will help ensure the City is financially positioned to complete the required landfill closure, post-closure monitoring, and other related activities without placing an undue financial burden on future operating budgets.
As part of the annual fee review, staff has evaluated increasing the credit card processing fee to 3.5% to better allocate for the existing fees imposed on the City. Additionally, renaming the fee associated with the landfill closure/post-closure to “Landfill Closure Fee” would help to alleviate confusion related to the fee’s intended purpose.
DISCUSSION:
Approval of Ordinance No. 4010 will authorize amending portions of “Appendix A - Fee Schedule” of the Code of Ordinances to increase credit card processing fees for certain utility related purchases to 3.5%, allowing the City to recover a greater portion of its overall credit card processing fees, and will also amend the existing fee related to the landfill closure/post closure to be labeled as “Landfill Closure Fee”.
Staff will be available to answer any questions the Council may have.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The increase in the credit card processing fee is expected to improve recovery of the City’s credit card processing costs. The exact fiscal impact will depend on the number and value of transactions for which the fee can be assessed.
Renaming the existing trash fee as the Landfill Closure Fee has no financial impact.
DISTRICT:
Citywide
POSSIBLE COUNCIL ACTION:
1. I move to approve Ordinance No. 4010 as presented.
2. I move to approve Ordinance No. 4010, with modifications.
3. I move to table the issue for further study or take no action.
ATTACHMENT(s):
1. Ordinance No. 4010