Director's Rule 99-1

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Establishing Convenience Fees for Remote Payment Transactions

(1) PURPOSE
A rule authorizing and establishing convenience fees on remote payment transactions when customers pay by credit or debit card using any electronic commerce method of payment, including but not limited to payments made over the Internet and payment via Interactive Voice Response ("IVRI) technology.

The City has incurred, and will continue to incur, the costs of developing, establishing, maintaining, and modifying electronic commerce-style methods of payment, and intends for such costs to be borne in fair shares by those customers who choose to take advantage of the convenience of rnaking payments via these methods of payment.

(2) REFERENCES

(2.1) Seattle Municipal Code (SMC) Title 5, Chapter 5.22, Ordinance 119283 (Authorizes fees for electronic payments).

(2.2) SMC S 3.18.040.D (Rule making authority of Executive Services Director).

(2.3) Ordinances 116799, 117017, and 117375 (Authorize the City of Seattle to accept payment of fees and fines)

(3.0) ESTABLISHMENT OF FEES

(3.1) In accordance with SMC Title 5 Chapter 5.22 and Ordinance 119283, fees authorized under this rule are set by the Executive Services Department in conjunction with the Head of each City Department that accepts payment through electronic commace technology, and shall not exceed any applicable provision of Federai, State, or local law.

(3.2) The fees set under this rule shail not be so high as to result in the cancellation of the Cåy's authority to accept electronic payment via maior credit or debit cards.

(3.3) An electronic commerce transaction fee may be established for allowing customers to remotely pay any City fee, fine, or bill owed to the City without additional public advertisement or notice, if the transacticn fee does not exceed the highest transaction fee currently authorized by this rule.

(4) Transaction Fees

The remote payment electronic commerce transaction fees authorized by this rule shall only be imposed one time on each credit or debit card used in the transaction and shall be in addition to the total amount of the original fee, fine, or bill owed to the City, plus any applicable interest, penalty or late charge.

Effective: March 1, 1999

DIRECTOR'S CERTIFICATION

I, Dwight D. Dively, Director of the Department of Finance of the City of Seattle, do hereby certify under penalty of perjury of law, that the within and foregoing is a true and correct copy as adopted by the City of Seattle, Department of Finance.