Agenda

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County Administrator's Report 16. 8.

BCC Regular Meeting

Budget & Finance Consent

Meeting Date:	12/11/2014
Issue: Implementing a 3% Transaction Fee for Acceptance of Credit and/or Debit Card Payments From Customers of the Building Inspections Department
From:	Donald R. Mayo
Department:	Building Inspections
CAO Approval:

RECOMMENDATION:

Recommendation Concerning Implementing a 3% Transaction Fee for Acceptance of Credit and/or Debit Card Payments From Customers of the Building Inspections Department - Donald R. Mayo, Interim Building Official/Department Director

That the Board take the following action concerning implementing a minimal 3% transaction fee for all payments accepted at the Building Inspections Department from customers using a credit and/or debit card as payment.

A. Authorize implementing a 3% transaction fee for acceptance of credit and/or debit card payments from the Building Inspections Department customers; and

B. Approve the effective date of January 1, 2015, for implementation of the 3% transaction fee.

[Funding: There will be no cost to BID to implement this transaction fee. The 3% fee will be charged to the customers, recovering the BID's costs associated with using a credit and/or debit card as payment and reducing the BID's operational costs]

BACKGROUND:

To keep up with standard business practices, the Building Inspections Department (BID) offers the convenience of accepting electronic payments from customers. The BID incurs a minimum fee of three percent (3%) with each transaction, depending upon the type of card presented for payment. BID has not implemented a surcharge to recover the costs associated with accepting electronic payments. The BID would like to implement a minimal transaction fee of three percent (3%) in order to continue to accept electronic payments from its customers without using the BID Inspections Fund (Fund 406). This fee has been implemented by Corrections, EMS Billing, and the Clerk of the Court. Board approval is required since the BID operates in conformity with a fee schedule adopted by the Board pursuant to Sections 125.56(2) and 553.80, Florida Statutes.

BUDGETARY IMPACT:

There will be no cost to BID to implement this transaction fee. The three percent (3%) fee will be charged to the customers, recovering the BID's costs associated with using a credit and/or debit card as payment and reducing the BID's operational costs.

LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS/SIGN-OFF:

This Recommendation was reviewed and approved by Assistant County Attorney, Kerra A. Smith.

PERSONNEL:

N/A

POLICY/REQUIREMENT FOR BOARD ACTION:

The three percent (3%) transaction fee for the use of credit and/or debit cards must be approved by the Board because the BID operates in conformity with a fee schedule adopted by the Board pursuant to Sections 125.56(2) and 553.80, Florida Statutes.

IMPLEMENTATION/COORDINATION:

Sue Garrett, Administrative Assistant, and Gerald Wooten, Accountant, will coordinate with the IT Department and the permitting software provider for the development of a Fee Code necessary for assessing the fee and providing the required accounting. BID's customer base will be provided advance notice by several BID e-Blast announcements and Notices distributed with each permit that is issued.

Attachments
No file(s) attached.