The Finance Department and City Manager's Office are responsible for preparing the annual operating budget each fiscal year (July 1-June 30). The office works with all departments to prepare and maintain the budget that is consistent with the objectives of the City Council and the City of Marion's Strategic Plan and Capital Improvement Program (CIP).

Fiscal Year 2025 Adopted Budget

City Council approved the Fiscal Year 2025 (July 1, 2024 through July 1, 2025) budget on April 18, 2024 with Resolution 31895.

As adopted, the budget includes resources to fund initiatives that come from the City's Strategic Plan:

• Focus Area: Safe Community
  • Fills two vacant police officer positions left open last year to fund unplanned wage increases to help police department recruitment
  • an upgrade to a recently vacated administrative position within the Fire Department
  • Emergency Management Services Feasibility Study
  • Community Risk Assessment and Standards of Cover
• Focus Areas: Vibrant Community; Community & Economic Development
  • Central Plaza project implementation
  • Staffing for the mobile library (a new initiative that is part of the new library project)
• Focus Area: Team Marion
  • Implementation of Compensation Study recommendations
• Focus Area: Sustainable Infrastructure & Services
  • Robust Capital Improvement Program with significant investments in Street ($21M) and Sewer ($20M) improvements.

Public Notice Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Process

House File 718, passed during the 2023 Legislative Session, requires that a hearing on the property tax rate be held prior to completion of the budget. The proposed property tax hearing is intended to spotlight the change in property tax levy to be requested by cities each year. This hearing must be held as a stand-alone meeting, with its own agenda and minutes. No other city business may be on the agenda or discussed during the meeting. This hearing requires a public notice. The notice must be published in a newspaper of general circulation within the city not less than 10 and not more than 20 days prior to the date of the public hearing.

The notice (as populated by the State's budget system) will be published in the Cedar Rapids Gazette and posted on the City's social media pages on March 13. The public hearing is scheduled for March 26 at 4:30 p.m.

The first column is representative of the prior year (FY 24) budget.  The second column represents what the tax rate would be if the City asked for the same dollar amount in taxes for FY 25 as FY 24.  The third column is the current proposed budget.

A second public hearing on adoption of the budget will be held on April 18, 2024 at 5:30 p.m.  The notice will be published in the Cedar Rapids Gazette on April 5.  

Notice of Public Hearings: FY 2021 |  FY 2022  |  FY 2023  |  FY 2024  |  FY 2025 

Budget Documents