AGO 97010.

• Court: Nebraska

Nebraska Attorney General Opinions 1997. AGO 97010. DATE: February 6, 1997SUBJECT: Authority to Pay Municipal Fees with Credit CardsREQUESTED BY: Senator Ron Withem Nebraska State LegislatureWRITTEN BY: Don Stenberg, Attorney General Timothy J. Texel, Assistant Attorney General You have requested the opinion of this office concerning the authority of municipalities to accept credit cards for payment of certain fees. You specifically requested advice regarding whether the Legislature would have to affirmatively act in order to allow cities to perform such a function. Due to the number of variables involved, and that no one statute or case appears to control the issue raised, there does not appear to be any one clear answer to your inquiry. We note you mentioned in your request that in a cursory review of the statutes, you found no statutory prohibition against the acceptance of credit card payments for municipal fees. In our research, we likewise did not find any statute prohibiting this practice. However, due to the nature of the area of law involved, that determination alone does not answer the issue. It is well established in Nebraska that municipalities have only those powers which are expressly conferred on them by statute, are necessary or fairly implied in order to carry into effect some enumerated power, or are essential to the declared objects and purposes of the municipal corporation. State ex rel. Ransom v. Irey, 42 Neb. 186, 60 N.W. 601 (1894); Giger v. City of Omaha, 232 Neb. 676, 442 N.W.2d 182 (1989); Professional Firefighters Local 385 v. Omaha, 243 Neb. 166, 498 N.W.2d 325 (1993). The Nebraska Supreme Court has also stated that the powers a municipal corporation may exercise as essential to its declared purposes must be indispensable, not simply convenient. Giger at 688, 442 N.W.2d at 192; Professional Firefighters at 174, 498 N.W.2d at 331. Under normal circumstances it would not seem necessary for a city to accept credit cards for municipal fee payments in order to carry out an enumerated power, and such action would not be essential to the declared purposes of a city. Nebraska statutes establish several classes of cities, according to their population. These categories classify cities as metropolitan, primary, first class, second class, and villages. Separate sets of statutes establish the powers available to the cities within each...