(2/22) As a result of changes in banking fees and lack of use by the public, the Town Council voted unanimously to cancel the ability of residents to pay their water/sewer payments on-line via a button on the Town’s website and cancel the yearly contract with the credit card processing company that handled the payments.
The ability of residents to pay on-line, an option several residents had asked for, was part of the much anticipated rollout of the new, state of the art remote meter reading system that was implemented in September of last year.
Town staff informed Burgess Heath Barnes and the Council that they had been notified by the credit card processing company that processes the water/sewer payments on-line for the Town that they are changing the allowable process used by the Town to "recoup" the cost of processing credit cards.
The town pays the credit card processor a flat rate of $1,440 a year for an unlimited number of "swipes." Based upon the initial assumption that 25% of the Town’s residents would opt to pay their water bills on-line, the Town set the on-line payment fee at a flat rate of $3.
The credit card processor however, has notified the Town that they will no longer allow the Town to set a flat rate, but instead, that the Town must charge 3% of the total payment. So, residents with a $300 quarterly water bill using the on-line payment option could finds their bills increased by $9 just to pay on-line.
"We were hoping at least to recoup that $1,440 with the $3 fee tacked onto the water bills of people paying on-line. But so far in this most recent billing cycle, only 15 residents have used the on-line payment option, resulting in a collection of only $45 in on-line fees, far short of what was needed to cover the yearly $1,440.
"So even before the credit card company changed to a percentage rate charge, the Town was losing money by accepting payments on-line; with this additional charge, even fewer people will opt to pay on-line, so the Town’s losses will only increase," said Town staff.
Commissioner Cutshall noted that for years, "the Town never had any problem with residents dropping payments into the mail or swinging by the office. Residents can always set up an automatic payment at their bank that will cost the Town nothing. People are going out of their way to try to avoid paying fees, and I can’t see anyone opting to pay an additional $15 to $20 on their water bill when they can simply mail it to us for the price of a simple stamp."
Staff noted that they process envelopes with checks for payments almost daily from residents. "Every dollar in them is going into the Town’s account, not to some credit card processing company."
Barnes, shook his head, noting the Town "was in no position to be needlessly losing money. Every penny counts."
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