Cash no longer accepted as payment for services in Discovery Bay, California

DATELINE ZERO – “Legal tender for all debts, public and private …” except in one California community. Discovery Bay is no longer accepting cash as payment for town services.

According to The Contra Costa Times, the Discovery Bay Community Services District board baned “cash transactions for all services, including water bills and park reservations.”

Board members said the new policy will ensure the safety of town clerks and save the district time and money, but some say it is also a response to anonymous requests for public records the town has received. Those requesting records anonymously have been using cash to pay for the cost of copying the documents.

If this is about anonymous requests for public records, shouldn’t the board either stop calling it “public information” or require a name or photo id? Why ban the use of legal tender as payment of all public services?

Right now, this seem to be a story isolated to this one community. But it will get very interesting very quickly if other communities begin following suit throughout the year.

Read more, from the full post at DATELINE ZERO.