CALERA, Ala. (WBRC) – If you pay your utility bill in Calera with a credit card, you’re now paying more — and city leaders say they hear your frustration.
A new 3.5% service fee now applies to all credit card payments.
The charge caught some residents off guard, but city officials say the fee was unavoidable, and a free alternative is on the way.
Why the fee was added
James Fuller with the City of Calera says the city was spending roughly $30,000 per month on credit card processing fees, a cost the city calls unsustainable.
“That’s just the cost that it takes to process the credit card,” Fuller said. “The city does not make any of that money.”
The rising number of residents paying by credit card was making the problem worse, he said.
“That cost continuing to rise because the number of people using credit cards — it was definitely causing an issue to where we needed to be able to use those funds for infrastructure updates that are needed,” Fuller added.
A free option is coming, but it’s taking longer than expected
The city is working to launch a new e-check payment feature online that would allow residents to enter their bank routing number and avoid the fee entirely.
The rollout has been delayed due to software glitches. The new system was mistakenly charging test accounts, and city leaders want to make sure no real customers are accidentally charged fees.
“No customer was accidentally charged for e-check or anything like that,” Fuller said. “The last thing we want to do is discourage people from being able to pay online, cause we understand everybody’s busy.”
The city is also upgrading from a 25-year-old software system.
Next steps
While the e-check feature is finalized, residents have options:
- Write a check at Calera City Hall — no fee
- No late fees will be charged this month
- No disconnections will happen this month
Fuller says the new e-check system is expected to go live within one to two weeks, so hopefully sometime in mid-June.
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