Christiansburg Town Council talks fees for credit card payments.

I kept waiting for someone to bring up a couple of issues about this, but they never did during the Joint Public Hearing held on January 6, 2010. The discussion was concerning the application of fees for those people who wish to pay their town bills using a credit card.

I’ve gone back through the recordings of previous meetings, reviewed the minutes and talked to quite a few people. I can not find anyone or any comment related to citizens requesting the opportunity to be able to walk into Town Hall and pay for their water bill (or other expense) by credit card. I have found quite a few who have asked that this service be available but online not in the town offices.

The people that I have spoken with asserted that if they wanted to go into Town Hall they could simply take a check, their goal was to prevent having to go to Town Hall, try to find parking (rapidly approaching the level of extinction), and pay their bills. They simply wanted to be able to process the transaction using their credit or debit card online as many other jurisdictions do which decreases vehicle usage, is more convenient for many citizens, and reduces the amount of paperwork and time of office staff.

I also noted that while this has been discussed as an option for sometime, specific references were made to software purchases which allowed for these types of computer/online transactions that did occur but were not implemented. Now the ‘purchase process’ begins anew….but will it be used any more effectively than the last such package purchased?

Funny that this would suddenly come into the limelight but without that very ‘online’ feature that people were requesting. Why the sudden rush to provide people with something they have not asked for? …. (thinking…..2 seconds…3 seconds)…

Oh, I got it! The Aquatic Center is about to open. They are expecting lots of people at the Aquatic Center who may be coming from other areas, and they may be selling a lot of stuff there. Hmmmm…..Is this a weird coincidence or what?

Citizens won’t get what they asked for by way of internet payments of their Town bills, but if they so choose to pay bills by credit card at Town Hall (or possibly by phone – which could tie up office staff time again depending upon the processing system used), they will get the opportunity to contribute a $4 handling fee (regardless of the amount paid)?

If the system is also used at the Aquatic Center will that same $4 fee apply to those people who are not citizens for any purchases made there? Or, will that $4 fee underwrite the bulk of the cost for having that system set at the Aquatic Center. Or, will an entirely different system need to be used at the Aquatic Center (maybe they’ll go with cash only for all those tourists).

See, this is what happens when people aren’t kept informed. They are forced to draw their own conclusions. These are simply my thoughts on the project. I do want to acknowledge that the Finance Officer did a great job of providing the information to Town Council that was requested of her. I did some research and for those jurisdictions that do charge for the service the fee structure she has proposed is entirely within the normal range. There are many jurisdictions that do not charge fees for this service.

However, there are some other opportunities that could be addressed as well before a decision is made. The entire process could be made through internet payments and the Town could provide a couple of computer terminals at the office for those who want to pay by credit/debit card instead of by check when they walk in. As pointed out by another citizen, simply having several drop box locations around town would make it easier for people to pay there bills by check or money order. And, last but not least, there is the ability of the town to absorb the cost of processing and not charge customers at all for the service.

As was pointed out by one citizen at the meeting, how much would be saved by the Town if Internet access for billing and payment was used…what would be the savings in postage, paper, and staff hours? Nobody knew the answer to that question and it might be a good one to know before making any decisions.

One thing is for sure, if there has been some sort of misunderstanding as to whether the issue is for people to be able to walk into Town Hall and pay by credit card, or if the issue is being able to pay via the internet, it might be a real good idea to clear it up BEFORE money is spent and commitments are made. If this is a process being driven by the need of such a store front payment system at the Aquatic Center, then let’s hear that be stated.

It is just so hard to know what the real issues are when citizens are left out of the information loop. Oh, by the way, if you’d like to see the discussion, the video of that Town Council meeting can be found at….(drumroll)…myvaresources.com click on the link to Videos and you’ll see all of the Town Council and Planning Commission videos that are available for viewing.