GENTRY — City water, sewer and trash bills may soon be paid by credit or debit cards if the card holders are willing to pay an additional convenience fee for the service.

City council members, on Aug. 2, authorized Gentry Mayor Wes Hogue to enter into a contract agreement with Federal Payments, a payment solutions company, making it possible for the city to accept credit cards and debit cards as a method of payment for city bills.

The contracted service would be cost neutral to the city, Hogue told the council, with a fee of approximately 2.5 percent paid by customers who choose to use the service. Hogue said the fee set by the company might vary, depending upon how many Gentry water customers use the service.

Councilman Michael Crawford asked the mayor to have a notice posted so that users of the service were aware of the additional fee.

Because of the fees involved in accepting credit and debit cards, the city could not accept the cards without using a thirdparty vendor.