Debit and credit card fees have cost the Town of Hennessey nearly $20,000 in 2024.

“We’re losing 2.75 percent each time someone pays us (for anything) with a credit card,” Town Administrator Tiffany Tillman told the Hennessey Board of Trustees and Utilities Authority during its meeting last Tuesday.

“Everywhere you go, businesses are charging that back to the customer,” she said. “So far this year we’ve taken in $684,181.40 and at 2.75 percent that has cost the town $18,814.99.”

In addition to utility bill customers, that includes swimming pool admission, building permits, licenses, etc.

Both boards voted to charge credit card fees back to customers through the Payment Service Network, but it will not take effect until March 1, 2025.

Utility and other regular customers will be notified of the change, which includes utility payments and all other payments (permits, licenses, etc.).

All four trustees were present for both meetings: Mayor Harold Shaw, Bert Gritz, David Jones and Randy Bohnstedt.

Unplanned Expenses

Tillman said the town had a couple of unexpected expenses that came up last week:

• Replacement of a manhole will cost $6,000, she said.

“The top of that manhole has deteriorated because of all the traffic,” said Public Works Director Alyssa Kubat. “It’s on West 2nd Street. We’ll just concrete around it.”

• “A motor went out at the water plant and they put in the backup, but we’ll have to replace the motor,” Tillman said. “It will cost $7,500.”

“Will those be contracted out?” asked Jones, “or will our people be doing the work?”

“It’s a brand new motor and we can’t do the electric,” said Tillman. “Farmers Electric will do that work.”

She also said the manhole is being contracted.

Jones Asks for Progress on Projects Jones said he appreciated the public works director being at the meeting, then added, “I’d really, really like to see on the big screen (meeting room projection screen) the stuff that you guys are planning and what we’re spending.”

He said he’d like to see a brief presentation once a month at their meetings from Kubat, or Tillman, and suggested there are computer programs they could use to help explain, and track, their plans.

“That’s just a request,” he said. “I’m not demanding it...but a 10-minute update each month would be helpful.

“For example,” Jones said, “I’m wondering what’s going on with our water meter situation. We’ve made more meter purchases.”

“That was a grant,” Tillman said, “and we haven’t heard back from them yet.”

“That’s too bad,” Jones said. “That would’ve been a perfect example of setting up a timeline for projects.”

Jones also noted the town has “a lot of progressive (partial) payments that we make to contractors.”

He suggested trustees review public works projects once a month and watch the funding.

Tillman said she was confused about what Jones wants since the board gets a list of all payments and what they are for each month.

“I’m not as worried about the expenditures as much as I am about the progress on the stuff that you guys are doing...I’m just asking for an overview of what we have going on in our public works department,” Jones said.

“I’ll get with Jared (Harrison, town attorney) and see what other communities are doing,” Tillman told Jones.

“We’re trying to get to where the board acts on policies and the big things and not the day-to-day stuff,” Tillman said. “So, I’m trying to figure out how to do this.”

“There is a way to bridge that gap,” Harrison said. “We’ll discuss it a little bit, come up with some ideas, see what works, then let you and everybody see what projects you’ve got, then go from there.”

Employee Bonuses

Tillman said there was $20,000 left in that American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds and proposed it be used for this year’s employee Christmas/ longevity bonuses.

An agenda item called for using that fund and Tillman said if they didn’t approve spending the $20,000 that night they’d need to have a special meeting.

That’s because those funds have to be spent this year.

The board then approved by a 4-0 vote a motion by Bohnstedt to give full-time employees $1,000 plus $50 for each year of employment and $250 for part-time employees.

Those are the same amounts from last year and it’s the third year to use ARPA money to help fund bonuses.

The total bonus number is $28,000, Tillman said.

At the Meeting

In addition to trustees, other officers present were Town Treasurer Shelley Burch (also Town Hall office manager) and Town Clerk Kelley Vaverka.

Other staff at the meeting were Tillman, Kubat and Harrison.

Visitors were James Battles and Jack Tony who were there about Hennessey being designated a Purple Heart Town (a community that honors military personnel who were wounded, or killed, in combat).

Battles is scheduled to be on the board’s Jan. 14 agenda with a proclamation for the board to approve. Tony said he would also be there.