SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — The Springfield City Council has approved an ordinance limiting payments in coins to $20 and no more than $5 in pennies.
The (Springfield) State Journal-Register reports that the new law approved Tuesday, October 18, 2016 is an effort to not pay debts with change, such as a recent resident who tried to pay a more than $100 tax bill with pennies. There are many videos online of disgruntled citizens paying fines and fees with coins.
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Springfield city treasurer Misty Buscher requested the new law, saying that she’s not against change but “it stops the sensation to make a point.”
The new ordinance’s wording is flexible though. Buscher says if a stack of change is the only way a resident can pay the city will accept it. She says she wants “to stop stuff that’s unnecessary.”
