sr-062811-3iCity Council Meeting: June 28, 2011
Agenda Item: J?_~
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Carol Swindell, Finance Director
Subject: Agreement Modification with Six Card Solutions for Parking Structures
Credit Card Payment Processing.
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council authorize the City Manager to negotiate and
execute a modification to the City's service agreement for credit card payment
processing with Six Cards Solutions for an amount not to exceed $80,000 annually for a
four-year total amount of $320,000.
Executive Summary
To ease queuing lines and provide payments options for customers exiting the
Downtown structures, staff has implemented automated credit card payment services at
the parking structure pay machines and exits. Staff recommends that the City's
agreement with Six Card Solutions, which currently processes all of the City's downtown
parking structures credit card payments, be modified to renew the service agreement for
an additional three year term.
Background
In 2008, Council directed staff to implement credit card payment options at the
downtown parking structures. All parking revenue and access control systems and pay
machines in the downtown parking structures were then equipped with credit card
acceptance functions. As a result, utilization of the credit card payment option in parking
structures increased each year. During the current fiscal year alone, over 50% of
parking patrons elected to pay by credit card.
All of the City's parking structures and the Civic Lot utilize Ski Data technology. Six Card
Solutions is the only authorized credit card processor for Ski Data parking revenue and
access control equipment. Ski Data is proprietary equipment that only operates with the
authorized credit card processor. With the additional pay machines for the parking
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structure automation project, parking structures will process up to 2.5 million credit card
transactions annually, and the fiscal expenditure for credit card processing is expected
to increase to $ 80,000 in FY2011-12.
Discussion
The City accepts credit card payments for utility, parking citation, and business license
payments as well as planning fees, recreation class fees, permits ,and other services
offered by the City. As credit cards have become a more widely-used form of payment,
the costs of accepting credit cards as a form of payment have also increased.
Credit card payments were .implemented in 2007 to facilitate traffic exiting the City's
parking structures and provided additional payment options for patrons. The City's
parking structures serve over 4.7 million visitors annually, up from 3.6 million in 2007.
Revenue from daily visitors is expected to be $13 million in FY2011-12.
Revenue control equipment and pay machines have the capability to accept credit card
payments, along with "free" tickets and monthly cards in exit lanes that no longer require
cashiers. Patrons pay for their parking before retrieving their vehicles. The exit lanes
move faster and this reduces overall exit delays. In addition, many short-term delays
are caused when patrons do not have cash to pay tickets. once they get to the exit;
these delays can be eliminated for customers that have credit cards.
With the addition of credit card processing in the parking structures, the fiscal
expenditure for credit card processing is expected to increase to $80,000 annually
beginning in FY2011-12 for afour-year total of $320,000. The City's current contractor,
Six Card Solutions, is the authorized credit card processor solution for the proprietary
parking revenue and access control system that is installed in the City's parking
structures. The service agreement covers the cost of credit card processing and
transferring the data to the City merchant account.
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Financial Impacts & Budget Actions
The agreement with Six Card Solutions will not exceed $80,000 per year. Funds in the
amount of $80,000 are included in the FY 11-13 budget at account number
01225.555010. Budget authority for subsequent years will be .requested in each
biannual budget cycle.
Prepared by:
Frank Ching, Parking Coordinator
Approved:
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Carol Swindell
Director, Finance Department
Forwarded to Council:
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Rod Gould
City Manager
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Reference Contract
No. 9389 (CCS)