By ANGELA MARSHALL
Prior to the Dec. 18 board meeting, Village Administrator Anthony Cancellieri had briefed the trustees about the plan, which is aimed at making life more convenient for residents as well as increasing the village's revenue.
Residents will be able to try out the new form of payment for the next six months at the village's recreation center.
The vote was split down party lines. Concerned Citizen trustees Mary Bossart and Bud Cosgrove voted against the use of credit cards because of fees and language left out of the legislation.
Mr. Cancellieri, who could not attend Monday's meeting, said he hopes residents' reliance on credit cards will make using the village's services more appealing when cash and checks are not required. This, he suggests, could lead to increased revenue. However, Trustee Bossart is worried that the village may lose out due to fees charged by the credit-card companies that cannot be passed on to the customer.
According to research done by the village, only Discover will allow two separate fees to be charged -- one for residents paying for services in cash and one for those paying with their card. Other companies require that one fee applies to everyone, costing the village 2 percent for each credit-card transaction.
Village Comptroller Michael Schussheim said at the briefing that Huntington set up its program using Discover and that the credit-card "participation rate is very, very low."
"I have a problem with the credit-card companies telling us what to do," said Ms. Bossart, who was one of the trustees to originally ask the administration to look into credit- card use. She would like to see the New York Conference of Mayors and Municipal Officials lobby for villages to get relief from the fees.
During the test, which will begin in early 2001, Visa and MasterCard will be the cards of choice. Mr. Schussheim estimated that the start-up costs of the program would be approximately $1,100.
In addition to the revenue lost to the fees, Trustee Cosgrove was disappointed that the legislation does not specifically state that credit cards will be used only at the recreation center. "I am not opposed to the idea of credit cards," Trustee Cosgrove said before casting his vote. What he does oppose, he said, is that the legislation "doesn't say what it's supposed to say."
Mayor Eugene Murray defended the legislation's language. "The village will have full control of the experiment. It will go no further than the rec center until it comes back to the board."
Other Home Rule members, Wayne Lipton and Jack Matthews, also spoke in favor of the pilot program. "There are a variety of reasons to do this, and the first is convenience," said Trustee Lipton. "We would be providing another service to our residents and I think it's long overdue. The state accepts credit-card payments, the city accepts credit-card payments and, as far as I know, the federal government accepts some credit-card payments. I believe at some time in the future, this could be of tremendous benefit to our courts."
Throughout the trial, village administration will monitor any fluctuations in revenue to see if credit-card use causes significant increases or decreases. It will then be determined if their usage will be allowed in other areas of the village, such as the Sandel Senior Center, the Department of Public Works, the courts and the village cashier's office.
