Commission eyes software upgrade

Quay County commissioners had cautious optimism about a software upgrade that could allow the county’s treasurer’s and clerk’s offices to accept debit and credit card payments.

“It would be convenient for the taxpayers and residents, but we must first learn of the cost associated with acquiring this service,” said Franklin McCasland, commission chair.

Quay County Treasurer Patsy Gresham requested the commission look into an purchase of an Eagle web software addition during Monday’s regular meeting.

Gresham said the $16,000 software would allow county offices to accept debit and credit card payments at the office and online. She said this would give residents a new, convenient way to pay property taxes.

“There is a lot of research that still needs to be done before the purchase of the software is considered,” Gresham said.

Gresham said there has always been an issue with the county not being able to accept debit, credit card payments. She said many people would rather just use cards than write a check or carry cash. The software would also allow taxpayers to access their payment history and files through a secure network, Gresham added.

“It would be a great benefit to be able to accept debit, credit cards for the various service charges at the office,” said Ellen White, Quay County Clerk. “I’m not too sure about making records available online to the public on an outside network or website.”

Gresham said there would be a link to the pay portal and records access on the current Quay County website. She said the pay link would be secured by the third party billing company and the records would be secured by the current Eagle CAD system used by the county.

“One of my concerns is what this could cost the taxpayers,” Franklin said. “There has to be a service charge for the processing of the online payment. We need to know the percentage that will be charged for the transactions.”

District 1 Commissioner Mike Cherry said the commission has to consider more factors than just the sticker price.

“I agree with commissioner McCasland, we need to know what this will cost our taxpayers,” Cherry said. “We also need to know more about how the system is accessed by the public and what information they can access.”

Gresham said she has arranged a visit with the Chavez County Clerk’s Office, which is using the software and has agreed to demonstrate it for her.

The commission approved Gresham’s proposal to look into the purchase of the software.