The Marion City Council unanimously approved a $112.6 million City budget for 2022 – a plan which decreases the property tax rate, aligns resources to the City’s new three-year strategic plan, funds derecho recovery efforts, continues investment in capital improvement projects and makes necessary investments in utility services.
The 2022 property tax rate will decrease by 1.5 cents to $14.20 per $1,000 in taxable property value. This is the third straight year of property tax reductions or a flat rate. The total City of Marion property taxes paid by a residential property owner will be $801 per $100,000 of assessed valuation.
Strategic Plan
In 2021, the City adopted a new three-year strategic plan (2021-2023). Highlights of the investments for 2022 include:
- Public safety mental health liaisons
- Upgrade the public safety information management system
- Five new full-time staff to address efficient and effective government and sustainable infrastructure efforts
- Part-time staff to increase recreational programming with the new YMCA in Marion
Derecho Response
The August derecho was the most devasting storm in the City’s history. It is estimated that the derecho cleanup efforts managed by the City will total $43 million and the City’s portion will be $6.5 million (FEMA and the State are expected to cover 85 percent of cleanup costs). The $6.5 million equates to $438 per Marion household. The 2022 budget sets aside funding to pay nearly half of the City’s storm-related expenses with the remaining portion to be paid with temporary financing.
Capital Improvement Projects
The new Marion Public Library is expected to open in the spring of 2022. The facility will be twice the size of the previous library which was damaged during the derecho. Additionally, the 2022 budget plans for the completion of 6th Avenue, start of the 7th Avenue Streetscape project, $3.7 million for the CeMar Trail and $2.2 million in neighborhood street improvements.
Utility Rate Increases
Three of the City’s utility funds are budgeted for rate increases in FY 2022: Sanitary Sewer, Solid Waste (Garbage and Recycling) and Water. The rate increases are needed to address rising costs in service delivery.
Marion does not have its own wastewater treatment facility and the cost for treatment services increased by 19 percent or $670,000 in 2021. In response, a 7 percent increase is budgeted for the variable portion of the sewer rate (currently set at $4.10 per 100 cubic feet of water). The monthly $2 flat rate remains unchanged. By adjusting the variable rate, the increase will more directly impact high water volume users. This change is estimated to increase costs on the average residential sewer bill by $2 per month.
Similarly, the recycling market has changed over the past couple of years, leading to increased costs in the United States and international markets. Consequently, an annual recycling incentive of $67,000 offered by the Solid Waste Agency is no longer available in 2022. This revenue reduction coupled with the annual increases in tonnage of garbage collected and associated disposal costs are what led to the $1.25 monthly increase recommended by the Public Services Board. In 2022, a solid waste diversion study will evaluate current solid waste practices to determine the future provision of services for Marion residents.
The Water Department is planning to increase rates by 5.4 percent for the typical residential customer and on average 9.5 percent for commercial and industrial customers. The rate increase is in response to rising energy costs, capital project loan payments and the construction of a $2.9 million iron removal plant that will increase the future water supply for the growing community. The estimated impact for the average residential water user is approximately $1.16 per month or less than 4 cents per day.
The total monthly increase for these rate adjustments is estimated to be $4.59 a month or 5.6 percent for the average residential utility bill.
Learn more about the budget and City services at www.cityofmarion.org.