After a vote by City Council Tuesday, the City will be looking into which online convenience fees can be eliminated in an attempt to encourage more e-government and eliminate paper waste.
{loadposition latestnews}Currently, permits and services procured online from City government come attached with a convenience fee, where if the resident were to go in person to acquire these services and paid with the same credit card, they would not be charged that fee. This process makes it so there is no incentive to purchasing services online, and encourages people to consume city resources in person.
“I don’t think that makes any sense,” said 7th District Councilmember James Johnson. “By [removing fees], it will be a convenience to residents, and to let them know their city hall is open 24 hours. Convenience fees that charge credit cards should just be seen as a cost of business.”
In addition, Vice Mayor Robert Garcia implored City Management to be able to coincide these fee eliminations with the updates coming to theLongBeach.gov website itself. Garcia also asked City Management to look at all funds, such as paying gas bills online, as opposed to smaller issues like garage sale permits.
The source of the current convenience fees are because a charge is paid to a third party vendor who manages the payment process. By eliminating these convenience fees, the city will take on those charges. As more fees are evaluated for elimination, the report will determine how much cost there is to the city itself.
Click here to read our policies covering city council.