The Marion Finance Committee met on February 26 for a discussion with Department of Public Works (DPW) Director Jody Dickerson and held further talks regarding the Draft Fiscal Year 2026 Budget.
Dickerson and the committee spoke on Waste Management’s contract expiring on December 31, 2025. He mentioned the increase of fees to people disposing due increases in contract cost. He said “you’ll see an increase of 10.96%” when referring to total cost of next year’s contract.
For parks and field maintenance, Dickerson said there is a 30% increase in costs from New Leaf. Moving on to utilities, he said, “everybody knows how utility prices have increased, especially in the last few months.” An average rise of 2% across all utilities was cited.
Gas expenses were down with electricity and water up. It was said the Wastewater Treatment Plant uses a lot of electricity, and most of Marion’s used water was said to come from Rochester. Overall, the DPW’s increase from FY25 to FY26 is approximately 2.35%.
In general, there is a 3.63% increase in full-time wages, a 10.71% increase in longevity pay, and a 7.5% increase in uniform allowances for the Sewer Enterprise Fund.
The next meeting of the Marion Finance Committee was to be held on Wednesday at the Marion Town House Conference Room where the committee planned to further tackle FY26 budget plans.
Marion Finance Committee
By Sam Bishop