02-08-2006 Council Agenda - Laserfiche WebLink

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There is some flexibility with certain service providers to be selective in whether or not a convenience fee is added for a particular service or not. In that case, we could choose to offer the park and recreation services without a fee in order to encourage participation and add convenience at a minimal expense to the fund. That same thought could be applied to licenses and permits given the level of cost. In regards to utility billing, these services are not as discretionary in nature compared to the park and recreation fees, permits and licenses. The utility bill area is where the concern regarding the equity in the cities bearing the cost and passing it on to all users.. At a $9600 annual cost and approximately 2500 customers using the service, this would add approximately $3.85 to every customer's bill to absorb this cost into the rates. Additionally, the $3.85 is true if every bill was equal in amount. The biggest users will pay the biggest share of the additional expense. Another option for park and recreation programs is to build in a "fee factor" to all the program charges thereby having all users offset this cost. (This option could be used in other areas as well but the disparity in fees between users and overall utilization may be less equitable than the park and recreation area where it is specific programs costs are tracked in more detail.) Another factor is to consider the acceptance on the part of the public in paying an additional fee for the convenience of using a credit card. It would seem that this could be more raise more irritation levels with the city given the majority of credit card users transactions are not subject to an additional fee. If complaints about the fee are received and it pressures us into absorbing the cost then we would be going against the wishes of the majority of the residents as delineated in the community survey results. Recommendations: 1. For park & recreation only build fees into overall program costs. 2. Do not accept credit cards for utility bills as added fee may have negative feedback and the availability of on -line bill pay has greatly reduced the need from a convenience stand - point. 3. Do not accept credit cards for other licenses and permits given the convenience factor doesn't exist in most cases as other documents in the permit & licensing area requires a resident coming to city hall for document exchange. (We will look at individual applications in the future when this possibility is more feasible). 4. Depending on the Council's decision of all add -on fees versus built -in fees a vendor will need to be chosen. 5. If on -line utility bill payment is imperative to offer then we would suggest that the City add the convenience fee and offer the free alternative of automatic withdrawal. Additionally, it may be prudent to delay the introduction of on -line utility bill payments until the automatic debit alternative is available.