Written by The proposed hikes to Marion’s utility rates and bus fares are not simply a response to inflation—they are the direct, painful consequence of the systemic financial mismanagement and IT governance failures that Marionwatch.com Investigates has been documenting for the past year and began reporting on in 2019, with our initial suspicions beginning to prove true around 2016.
For years, the City of Marion has operated in what officials themselves have described as a “financial fog,” the result of unreconciled books, missing data, and a chronic lack of internal oversight. The “corrective action list” released by Mayor Bill Collins is not a proactive reform plan—it is the bill coming due for years of dysfunction stretching back at least 15 years.
The Cost of the “Financial Fog”
At the center of Marion’s crisis is the breakdown of the city’s financial and IT infrastructure. The New World ERP system—intended to be the backbone of Marion’s financial reporting—has instead become a symbol of governance failure.
Our investigations have shown:
• Unreconciled Records: Marion failed to complete full audits for years, prompting the State Auditor to place the city under “Fiscal Caution” in late 2025.
• Data Deletion: Critical financial data was reportedly being deleted from city servers every 90 days, making it nearly impossible for auditors to reconstruct accurate balances.
• Management Gaps: A revolving door of auditors and the absence of basic internal controls allowed deficits to quietly accumulate across 13 separate city funds.
Because the city lost track of its true “bank‑to‑book” balance, Marion now faces an $8.7 million deficit in sewer, sanitation, and stormwater services. To fill that hole, the administration is turning to residents—through some of the steepest rate increases in city history.
Proposed Hikes: Breaking Down the Numbers
City officials argue that rates have not been adjusted in a decade. But the severity of these proposed increases is not the product of inflation alone—it is the direct result of the city’s failure to manage its finances incrementally and transparently over time.
Storm Sewer Rates: An 83% Jump
The city proposes raising the storm sewer rate from $7.20 to $13.20 per ERU, an 83% increase projected to generate more than $2.25 million annually. Had the city maintained accurate financial records, a gradual adjustment could have been implemented years ago. Instead, residents are now being asked to absorb the shock all at once.
Sanitation and Recycling: Higher Costs, Fewer Services
• Trash Pickup: Monthly rates would rise from $22.00 to $25.00.
• Recycling: The city plans to eliminate city‑run recycling entirely, shifting responsibility to the county to save approximately $435,775 per year.
Public Transit: Burdening the Most Vulnerable
The proposed “corrections” also target Marion’s bus system—one of the few remaining affordable transportation options for low‑income residents, seniors, and students.
• Adult fares: Increase to $2.00 per ride.
• Monthly passes: Jump from $30 to $48.
• Student and senior fares: Nearly double from $0.60 to $1.00 per ride.
These increases disproportionately impact those least able to absorb them.
What This Means for Marion
The State Auditor has already rejected one of the city’s recovery plans for being too slow and too shallow. The Mayor’s “corrective items” represent an aggressive attempt to satisfy state demands and avoid a full‑blown fiscal emergency.
But as Marionwatch.com has repeatedly documented, raising rates is a temporary patch—not a solution. Until the city can reliably track every dollar it collects and spends, residents will continue paying for a system that remains fundamentally broken.
Marion’s financial fog did not lift on its own. It was exposed through public pressure, investigative reporting, and the persistence of residents demanding answers. The question now is whether city leadership will finally fix the underlying failures—or simply continue passing the cost of dysfunction onto the people of Marion.