A change in the Town of Essex.
The town will stop taking credit card payments over the phone for property taxes.
Deputy Mayor Richard Meloche says the transaction fees being charged to the municipality by the credit card vendors continues to rise.
He says over the last 12 months, the town has paid $67,000 in transaction fees.
"I was actually astounded that we were charging $67,000 worth of expense-off per year and this is a growing number," says Meloche. "The trend is between a two and three percent increase in dollars charged through credit cards per year over the last four years."
Deputy Mayor Richard Meloche attends budget talks for the Town of Essex held on November 13, 2017. (Photo by Ricardo Veneza)
Meloche says all municipalities in Essex County except Kingsville have eliminated card card payments for taxes over the phone.
The town will also cap in person credit card transactions to a maximum of $1000 per transaction.
The changes go into effect on June 30.