HomeMy WebLinkAboutCouncil Provided Information - 12/9/2025COUNCIL STAFF REPORT
CITY COUNCIL of SALT LAKE CITY
TO:City Council Members
FROM:Allison Rowland, Senior Policy Analyst
DATE:December 9, 2025
RE: ORDINANCE: CONSOLIDATED FEE SCHEDULE AMENDMENT FOR THE PUBLIC
LANDS DEPARTMENT
ISSUE AT-A-GLANCE
The Department of Public Lands (DPL) has proposed minor changes to the Consolidated Fee Schedule, adding
the OpenCounter payment system to the list of programs exempt from charging credit card use fees. These
changes would formalize the exemption of 2.4% credit card surcharges on payments for all transactions
processed through OpenCounter, including: special event permitting; special event cost recovery; and urban
forestry mitigation fees. These credit card surcharges were not charged in the past because the third-party
payment providers in use do not have the ability to distinguish a credit card transaction from a debit or e-check
payment.
DPL calculated that if the surcharges were in place, it would result in about $10,000 in annual revenue. The
Department suggests that the activation of public spaces through special events, along with other potential
economic benefits, is likely to compensate the City for this amount of forgone revenue. The urban forestry
mitigation fees tend to amount to only small share of the total fees forgone every year (for example, $900 in
2025).
Goal of the briefing: Consider whether to support the proposal to formalize exemptions from credit card
surcharges used to pay for certain transactions related to the Department of Public Lands.
Item Schedule: