HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0244.000 2002-2004 ~[v or
Harry Kim s~'y~'~. William Takaba
y6r;~,
Mn~nr Director
Nancy E. Crawford
r 'r~~ ~ Depnry Direelor
~r'•o~tN','J
County of Hawaii
Finance Department
Aupuni SU'cc[, Room I I8 Hilq Ilawali 9h720
1808)701-8234 • Cax (808)961-8248
May 5, 2003
Honorable James Ara kaki, Chairperson and
Members of the County Council
Hawaii County Council
25 Aupuni Street
Hilo, Hawaii 96720
Re: Amendment to the Hawaii County Code
Enclosed is a bill for an ordinance amending Chapter 2, Article 24 of the Hawaii County
Code which relates to the service charge assessed for payments made to the County that
are subsequently dishonored. Currently, the County of Hawaii charges $7.50 for each
check or other negotiable instrument returned by the bank for insufficient funds.
This amendment removes all references of checks and negotiable instruments from the
Article 24 title and within Section 2-134 so that all dishonored payments (including credit
cards) will be assessed a service charge. This amendment also increases the service
charge assessed from $7.50 to $20.00. This higher fee was suggested by the Cost of
Government Commission, with which we concur. Hopefully, this higher fee will be more of
a deterrent for those rendering dishonored payments to the County.
If there are any questions, please do not hesitate to call Deanna Sako, Controller.
~o,
William Tal ba
Director of Finance
APPROVED:
~l.^^,'.,J L tw^ ~~jj
v Comm. No. 2~'i
Harry Kim Ref. To:
Mayor Ref. Date MAY 7 2LI~
Enc.
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Form B-52
7/18/91
DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE
REQUEST FOR COUNCIL ACTION
DEPARTMENT: Finance DATE: 5/1/03
STAFF CONTACT: Deanna Sako PHONE: 961-8425
A. REQUEST:
An ordinance to amend section 2-134 of the County Code to allow the County of Hawaii to charge $20.00 for
each returned check or other negotiable instrument, instead of the current $7.50 service charge. Also, to
amend the section to allow the fee to be charged for all dishonored payments.
B. BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION (USE ADDITIONAL SHEETS AS NEEDED)'
Currently the County of Hawaii charges $7.50 for each check or other negotiable instrument returned by the
bank for insufficient funds. This is inconsistent with the returned check fees charged by many retail and
other establishments, some of which charge up to $25.00 per returned check. The higher fee was
suggested by the Cost of Government Commission, with which we concur. The higher fee will hopefully be
more of a deterrent for writing a bad check to the County.
The fee is currently only charged for returned checks. By amending the section to also include all
dishonored payments, we will be able to charge the fee on dishonored credit card and other payments.
SIGNED: ~ DATE: 5/1/03
Department Head