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Resolution Authorizing Limited Rounding of Cash Payments Due to Penny Discontinuations, with Exception of Property Tax Collections
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INFORMATION CONTACT:
Beverly Liles, Finance, Director, 704-283-3675
ACTION REQUESTED:
Adopt Resolution Authorizing Limited Rounding of Cash Payments due to Penny Discontinuation, with Exception for Property Tax Collections.
PRIOR BOARD ACTIONS:
None.
BACKGROUND:
Local governments in North Carolina are beginning to encounter some challenges in collecting cash payments as pennies become harder to obtain. The United States Mint has stopped producing new pennies, and many of the pennies already in circulation are not returning through banks. As fewer coins circulate, banks are increasingly unable to meet penny requests in change orders. Citizens/customers who do not already have pennies may also have difficulty locating them.
As a result, both citizens/customers and local governments are starting to find themselves unable to make exact cash transactions for small-cent amounts. Union County has started to experience challenges particularly in our Parks and Recreation fees and sales as well as in our Solid Waste collections at the Landfill where citizens are paying in coins and currency.
Federal law, at 31 U.S.C. ? 5103, states that United States coins and currency are "legal tender for all debts, public charges, taxes, and dues." Most payments to local government fall into one or more of these categories; utility bills, permit fees, fines, service charges, contractual invoices, special assessments, system development fees, and taxes are typically fixed obligations set by law, ordinance, or contract. This suggests that local governments may be required to accept coins and currency as payment for these obligations. The fact that the Mint has stopped making pennies does not change the legal status of pennies as currency.
The anticipated discontinuation or reduced circulation of the one-cent coin ("penny") may create ...
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