Marion Town Hall

Marion residents will see their tax bills remain the same as the board of aldermen on Tuesday approved a budget and millage rate for the upcoming fiscal year.

Mayor Larry Gill said the town was planning to spend $5,674,396 in the fiscal year beginning October 1. That figure, he said, included grant funds and other special revenues in addition to taxes paid by town residents.

“This includes grants and things like that, and some extra funds we got this year,” he said.

Gill said the tax rate for residents will remain the same as the current fiscal year at 36.36 mills.

“No tax increase,” he said. “Same as that was last year.”

Water infrastructure

In other business, the board of aldermen moved forward on several infrastructure projects underway in Marion, including authorizing Gill to sign a promissory note for the town to receive a CAP loan.

CAP loans, which are administered through Mississippi Development Authority, were created by the legislature to be low interest loans with long repayment terms that can help counties and cities complete large infrastructure projects they might not be able to do otherwise.

Gill said the town was planning to borrow $854,235 to be the matching funds for a $3.4 million grant it had received from the Corps of Engineers.

Town Engineer Shawn Miles told the board of aldermen in February the town had been awarded the Corps of Engineers grant to build a new water treatment facility. The new treatment facility, he said, would add much needed redundancy to the town’s potable water supply and set Marion up for future expansion.

Gill said previously the grant required a 25% match and that the town show proof it has the matching funds to finalize the grant process.

“As of right now we’re on track to sign that grant next Monday, September 12,” he said. “I do not have a time yet, but when they give me a time I’ll make that known.”

The CAP loan, Gill said, had 20-year term at an interest rate of two percent. The town’s debt payment, he said, would be a little over $4,300 per month.

“It’s $4,321.43 for 240 months,“ he said.

ARPA funds

The board of aldermen on Tuesday also authorized the town to begin the process of applying for the state’s matching grant for American Rescue Plan Act funds.

Earlier this year, the state legislature appropriated $450 million to match counties’ and cities’ ARPA funds. The matching grants, which are being handled through Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, provide dollar-for-dollar matches for local governments that received $1 million or more and a two-for-one match for those who received under $1 million.

Marion, which received $340,000, would be eligible for the two-for-one match. Miles said the board previously put out a request for proposals for engineers and would need to select one to handle the ARPA projects. He encouraged the board to move quickly selecting an engineer and submitting its application before the window closes September 30.