Laserfiche WebLink
Early Direction for the Fiscal Year 2026-27 Budget <br />April 7, 2026 <br />Page 5 <br />5 <br />6 <br />9 <br />0 <br />Expenditure Considerations <br />Exhibit 1 provides a department-by-department breakdown of activities and programs <br />categorized by spending priority, as defined below: <br />Must-Have – Mandates required by law, Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs), <br />bond covenants, public safety obligations, and land use regulations. Examples <br />include records management, procurement compliance, and debt payments. <br />Should-Have – Core services that protect City resources and minimize liability <br />exposure. Examples include street and sidewalk maintenance and essential <br />software services. <br />Nice-to-Have – Programs and services that are not legally required but enhance <br />quality of life. Examples include newsletters, mentoring programs, recreation and <br />library programming, and City events. <br />These spending categories are intended to support policy discussion by helping the City <br />Council evaluate service levels and identify potential expenditure adjustments. If the City <br />Council is interested in further evaluating any of the categories or specific programs, staff <br />can conduct a more detailed review and provide an estimate of the fiscal impact of <br />potential adjustments. <br />As requested by City Council on March 17, 2026, during the Polling Results agenda item, <br />a presentation of the detailed Measure X spending plan is attached to this report (see <br />Exhibit 3). Staff has separated out the items in the spending plan that cannot be modified <br />to balance the budget (e.g. Orange County Fire Authority contract increases, structural <br />budget deficit that existed prior to the passage of Measure X, etc.). <br />Credit Card Processing Fee <br />Before February 2012, the City charged a flat $3.54 credit card processing fee per <br />transaction to offset merchant service costs. The fee was removed to simplify transactions <br />and encourage the use of online payment services. Since then, merchant service fees for <br />credit card transactions have been absorbed by the General Fund. <br />Over the past decade, credit card and online payments have increased significantly. As <br />a result, merchant processing fees now constitute an ongoing operating expense for the <br />City. Staff has evaluated reinstating a credit card processing fee as a cost-recovery <br />measure. Based on current merchant costs, a 2.50% per-transaction fee is <br />recommended. The proposed rate is designed to recover merchant processing costs <br />associated with credit card transactions and would not exceed the City’s actual cost of <br />service. This action is consistent with public entities outlined in Exhibit 2 and private sector <br />businesses. <br />If implemented, establishing the new processing fee is estimated to reduce General Fund <br />expenditures by approximately $320,000 annually, based on current transaction volumes. <br />The City currently maintains a $5,000 credit card transaction limit, established to manage <br />processing costs while the General Fund absorbs merchant fees. If a processing fee is