Lewes exploring convenience fee for credit card use at meters

With new parking meters going online in just a few months, Lewes officials are preparing for a significant increase in credit card use. With every swipe of a credit card, the city is charged a small fee by the bank. “That’s costing the city a fair amount of money,” said Deputy Mayor Fred Beaufait.

The old meters only accepted coins. Parkers also had the option of using the ParkMobile app to pay via credit card. The new meters will allow folks to pay by credit card right on the meter in addition to quarters or ParkMobile.

City staff estimates total fees paid for credit card transactions will increase 56 percent in the upcoming fiscal year, from $80,000 last year to $125,000. 

To make some of that back, mayor and city council instructed staff to look into adding a convenience charge onto each credit card transaction at parking meters or kiosks. “I just wonder if there’s a way to recoup some of this when we give the convenience of using a credit card,” Beaufait said.

A service charge would not be a foreign concept, as ParkMobile charges a 50-cent fee for every transaction. The city receives 15 cents of the 50-cent charge, said city Financial Officer Ellen Lorraine McCabe.

Mayor Ted Becker said credit cards and ParkMobile are used four times more than cash at the city’s main beach parking lot. “People are using less and less cash,” he said.

When combined with the secondary public lot at the beach, the city received about $220,000 in parking revenue paid by credit card last year.“If you could get a dime on [every transaction], it starts to add up,” said Councilperson Bonnie Osler.

Becker said he’s not aware of any other towns that charge a convenience fee for credit card use. “Just because nobody else does it doesn’t mean we couldn’t consider it,” said Councilman Dennis Reardon. “I’m not saying we should do it, but we shouldn’t dismiss it. I don’t want us to think about raising the meter rate and punish people who are paying by cash [or coin].”

City Manager Ann Marie Townshend said she will speak with the parking meter manufacturer to see if a convenience fee can be added. McCabe will run the numbers and provide council with an estimate on revenue realized from such a charge.

Council’s next budget meeting is set for 1:30 p.m., Thursday, March 14. As of the latest draft, council has eliminated the deficit anticipated in the operating budget in the first draft via department cuts and an increase in parking fine penalties.