Officials in a California town voted to ban cash transactions for services including water bills, park reservations and public records requests.
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The Discovery Bay Community Services District board voted to ban cash transactions for all town services to save the town money and ensure the safety of town clerks who will no longer have to handle cash, the Contra Costa Times reported Friday.
Directors Mark Simon, Chris Steele and Kevin Graves said the policy, which takes effect in May, is also aimed at saving staff time spent taking cash payments to the bank.
Don Flint, a city resident who is often critical of the board, said he believes the district is attempting to limit anonymous records requests, which are commonly paid for in cash.
"I'm troubled that the board takes steps to limit people's access to records," he said. "I think that you guys are overstepping if not the letter then the spirit of the law."
However, the directors said the records requests did not influence the decision.
"The main concern is the safety of our employees and the second is the efficiency with which we do our jobs," Graves said.