City Of Coppell: Postpones Transfer Of Credit Card Fees To Customers To November 1

From City of Coppell:

Historically, credit cards fees charged to the City of Coppell when residents elected to pay for services via credit card were absorbed by the City, meaning that all Coppell taxpayers and utility customers have contributed to these fee payments through property taxes and utility rates. In order to be more equitable, the City will begin passing these transaction fees, which added to $231,000 in fiscal year 2019, along to customers of the facility or service.

In early September, the City of Coppell announced that it would begin passing credit card transaction fees on to customers effective October 1, 2020. As a result of unforeseen circumstances with the City's vendors, the City has announced that it will delay the transfer of fees to customers until November 1, 2020.

"We have received new information from our vendors and, as a result, we are going to take a step back to reevaluate," said Director of Finance Jennifer Miller. "Instead of passing the fees on to customers effective October 1, we have postponed the implementation of the change until November 1."

Due to technological challenges with City's financial software vendor, Tyler Technologies, the City will be unable to make the necessary changes to financial processes to implement the change by October 1.

In addition to this technological delay, the City is working with one of the credit card processors utilized by Coppell Parks and Recreation, ActiveNet, to reevaluate the current fee structure and rates paid by the City. The fee rate that will be charged to customers and information about additional options to make payments will be made available as soon as possible.

The City of Coppell apologizes for the lack of clarity and the confusion that resulted. Thank you for your continued patience and understanding.

About credit card fees:As a result of the implementation of Senate Bill 2 from the Texas Legislature and Rule 3.334 from the Texas Comptroller, which changed the system of property taxation as well as local sales tax sourcing, Coppell, along with other Texas cities, has been tasked with maintaining a high level of service despite projected reductions in tax revenue.

The City of Coppell is meeting the challenge with a multi-pronged approach, which includes exploring revenue opportunities through new or updated user fees, evaluating capital expenditures, freezing vacant City staff positions, and adjusting service levels where appropriate.

The City currently uses multiple credit card processors that charge a transaction fee each time a credit or debit card is used to pay for a bill, fee, or service both online and in-person. The City has historically paid these fees, which added up to $231,000 in fiscal year 2019. In order to be more equitable, the City plans to begin passing these transaction fees along to customers of the facility or service.

Current legislation permits the passage of credit card fees onto customers, and surveys revealed that this is a common practice in some surrounding cities.The City of Coppell offers multiple payment options:

• Sign up for bank drafts for utility bills or cemetery contracts
• Drop utility payment off in the secure drop box outside of Town Center, 255 E. Parkway Blvd. The drop box is located next to the book drop in Town Center's north parking lot.
• Deposit payments to the Justice Center or Municipal Court in the secure drop box located to the left as you enter through the main entrance at 130 Town Center Blvd.
• Mail payments to City of Coppell, P.O. Box 9478, Coppell, Texas 75019.
• Mail Municipal Court-related payments to the Coppell Municipal Court, 130 Town Center Blvd., Coppell, TX 75019.
• The Coppell Animal Shelter, Justice Center, Municipal Court, Cozby Library and Rolling Oaks Memorial Cemetery accept cash payments. Please note, there may be restrictions on hours of operation and in-person transactions due to COVID-19.

This press release was produced by City of Coppell. The views expressed here are the author’s own.