The Marion City Council will use the Budget Committee to study the needs of the City for spending $5.82M from American Rescue Plan (“ARP”). The Committee will also study the City’s use of the CARES Act funds of approximately $960,000. The Budget Committee consists of all nine (9) members of the Council, giving each Ward representation during this process.
According to Council President Deborah Cain, the Committee will hold public hearings to do the following:
- Receive input and discuss areas of concern from residents and businesses in the City of Marion,
- Discuss how Federal funding from ARP can be used to address those concerns within the City Departments, and
- Discuss specific allocation of funds.
The topics for these hearings will initially involve blight elimination (removal of buildings, vehicles, signs, etc.) and infrastructure (roads, streets, sidewalks, etc.). Each Council member has been asked to submit a list of twenty (20) areas of blight they would like addressed in their districts, and a list of twenty (20) streets they would like repaired.
The public is also invited and encouraged to bring their own list of priorities to these meetings. Other topics will be announced as more hearings are scheduled. The Budget Committee will hold these meetings after the 6:00 hour to accommodate Council members who have daytime responsibilities and the public who wish to attend these meetings. We will also schedule a few Saturday meetings if needed to accommodate schedules.
