The Sherman City Council voted Monday to draft a resolution to charge convenience fees to those who make one-time utility payments via the city's Web site or by phone.

Of course, those who have set up direct pay are exempt from the charge, as are those who pay in person, by mail or by drop box.

That being said, not everybody who lives in Sherman works in Sherman and what may be a convenience for some has turned into a necessity for others.

I use the one-time payment system quite a bit because I don't always want the money withdrawn from my account on a certain day, and I don't think those of us who use the service set up by the city of Sherman should be subject to another tax, which is what this charge is.

In a small survey, the cities of Pottsboro, Denison, Van Alstyne, Bonham and Tom Bean don't offer online utility payments.

The cities of McKinney, Wylie, Plano and Anna do offer online utility payments, but only Wylie charges a $1 convenience fee.

The city of Anna had the best idea, if you choose to pay online, then you would not receive a bill through the mail, saving the city thousands of dollars in postage.

Why can't the city of Sherman do this? Why do they have to charge me $1.25 -$1.50 for the "convenience" of paying my utility bill?

Why doesn't the city of Sherman renegotiate its contract with DataProse, the company the city's hired to develop online payments?

My guess is the mayor and the city council believes this charge is the easy way out, to make people who use the service pay for it. I think there is another way, and I've suggested e-billing instead of mailing out thousands of bills.

What we can do is contact our mayor and city council and ask them if they've really thought this issue through. They can be reached at www.ci.sherman.tx.us/council_dept.asp. All council members have at least a phone number listed, so let them know what you think.