COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: Rebecca Campbell, Director of Finance
DATE: April 7, 2026
SUBJECT: Adoption of a Resolution Retroactively Approving Agreement w ith Paymentus Corporation for Electronic Payment Processing Services
Description:
The City Council will consider adopting a Resolution retroactively approving a service agreement with Paymentus Corporation.
Environmental Notice: The activity is not a “Project” as defined under Section 15378 of the California Environmental Quality Act State Guidelines; therefore, pursuant to State Guidelines Section 15060(c)(3) no environmental review is required. ______________________________________________________________________ RECOMMENDATION:
1. Adopt a Resolution retroactively approving a purchase agreement with Paymentus Corporation, a Delaware Corporation, for electronic payment processing services; and
2. Authorize City Manager, or designee, to execute the eight-year agreement.
BACKGROUND:
An agreement (Attachment A) with Paymentus Corporation (Paymentus) was entered into on June 6, 2019 , and expires June 5, 2027. The issue is that the agreement wasn’t approved by City Council, as required by the Purchasing Guidelines. In order to cure this issue and bring this service agreement into compliance with our Purchasing Guideline thresholds, it is requested that the City Council, by resolution, retroactively authorize the contract.
DISCUSSION:
On July 2, 2026, the City of Santa Maria “went live” with phase one of its new Workday Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system. The new ERP has provided the City with increased transparency and visibility into its purchasing processes. It has recently be en identified that there are a handful of contracts that may not be 100 percent in compliance with the City’s Purchasing Guidelines. Because of the massive transition from its 1998 legacy system and processes the purchasing authority (the City Manager) have provided departments approximately four to five months to correct these compliance issues.
2 Paymentus provides a service to the City’s utility customers for the opportunity for them to make payments to their account by Interactive Telephone Voice Respon se System ("IVR") or secure Internet interface provided online.
Fiscal Considerations
Paymentus charges the City approximately $1.75 per credit/debit card transaction and $0.75 for ACH/eCheck transaction that is collected by the City in addition to the corresponding payment as part of the transaction. The City is absorbing the fees that are currently estimated at $21,000 per month or $252,000 per year.
Impact on the Community
Approving this agreement will provide residential and commercial customers a h ost of self-service options to make paying bills easier and provide financial flexibility through a comprehensive platform featuring ACH/eCheck, credit and debit cards, as well as other electronic/digital methods.
Attachment(s):
A. Resolution
B. Agreement