Hagerstown Spent $888K on Card Fees. Now They Might Hand Us the Bill.

You ever pay a bill online and realize the final price is higher than the bill itself? That extra little charge don't look like much until it follows you everywhere. Hagerstown is now looking at adding one of those charges when residents pay city bills by credit or debit card.

At the October 6 City Council work session, officials and payment vendor InvoiceCloud discussed a model where card users could cover the transaction fee. The city said it spent about $888,000 on credit-card processing in fiscal 2026, excluding some categories. A proposed rate of 2.79% came up. That's not an adopted fee. Not yet.

The city has a point. So do the people paying.

I can understand why the city doesn't wanna eat nearly $900,000 in processing costs. That money could go toward other services. Somebody is already paying it one way or another. But when we're talking about utilities and city bills, people aren't just making fun optional purchases. They need the lights and water to stay on.

City staff discussed keeping electronic checks as a no-fee option. That's important, and it makes the conversation different from 'everybody's getting hit with another tax.' But not everybody uses the same payment method, has the same access, or feels comfortable linking bank accounts to every service they use.

And don't get me wrong: I'm not saying the government owes everybody unlimited free credit-card processing. I'm saying if the city wants customers to pick up a cost it previously covered, explain the change in plain English. Tell people how it affects recurring payments, debit cards, and anyone who needs to make a last-minute payment.

There's still no recorded implementation decision from that work session. That's why this is the time to speak up, not when the extra charge shows up in the checkout screen. If the city saves money, where does the savings go? And how will residents know?

Because the phrase 'convenience fee' always makes me laugh a little. Paying a bill shouldn't feel like buying VIP access to pay the bill.