CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM
Memo Date: April 17, 2020
Agenda Date: July 8, 2020
Prepared By: Jessica Dovale, Utility Support Service Manager
Through: Rebecca Bowman, Finance Director
Requested Action:
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To authorize the Interim City Manager to execute a multi-year contract addendum between the City of Cocoa and First Mobile Trust, LLC, for credit card settlement and utility bill printing, mailing, and online presentment. The expenditure for the bill printing and postage is pending the Approval of the FY2021 Budget.
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BACKGROUND:
The City currently contracts with First Mobile Trust, LLC, formerly First Billing Service, LLC, to provide credit card payment settlement, utility pay by text, utility bill statement printing and mailing, utility e-bill presentment, interactive voice recording platform, and a call center with live agents to assist with payment taking. These services, with the exception of utility bill statement printing and mailing, have been implemented at no cost to the City of Cocoa. The cost of bill printing and postage for mailing amounts to about $498,000 per year.
An additional $7,500 has been budgeted for routine bill insert expenses, should an insert be needed in FY2021, as well as $5,000 for any system interface or bill redesign programming expenses should they be necessary.
The credit card payment aspect on the contract includes a Convenience Fee Program, which was implemented in 2014. This Convenience Fee (Interchange rates and banking fees) is passed on to the customers who choose to pay by credit card. The credit card companies charge a percentage fee on every credit card transaction, which can range from 2% or higher. The City charges the convenience fee for every credit card paying customer in the regional utility system, which includes customers with service addresses in Brevard County, Viera, Cape Canaveral, Cocoa Beach, Merritt Island and other areas outside of the City. At this time, approximately 4% (1,440...
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