GARDEN GROVE City Hall (Orange County Tribune photo).
By Jim Tortolano/Orange County Tribune
In a move to save the city over $400,000 annually, the Garden Grove City Council on Tuesday night voted to approve a new way to process the charging of customers who use electronic payments.
On a 7-0 vote, the council approved the second of two options submitted by city staff. Under the current system, the city spends about $450,000 in costs associated with that processing.
Under the options chosen by the council, the convenience fee will be charged directly to customers by the Point & Pay LLC, which handles the city’s electronic payment processing from credit or debit cards.
Customers using MasterCard, Visa or Discover cards will be charged 2.2 percent, as will those using American Express and “digital wallets” such as Apple Pay and Google Pay.
Electronic check users will pay 20 cents.
Under the new system, the annual cost to the city is expected to drop to $20,000.
Also on Tuesday night, the council approved:
• a written request from the Christ Cathedral parish for the extension of operating hours and an exemption for the city’s noise ordinance for three separate events;
• proclamations recognizing Black April Month (the fall of Saigon) and Arab American Heritage Month;
• the purchase of two new vehicles for the police department.
