Will Marion's Storm Drain Fee Hurt Business?

What’s it like doing business in Marion?

Business leaders who met Tuesday at a meeting hosted by the Marion Economic Development Company and The Marion Chamber of Commerce, said it’s mostly good, but issues like high commercial property tax and the storm drain utility fee worry them.

Mary Rathje, a Marion business woman and board member of The Marion Economic Development Company, said she was especially troubled by the Marion City Council’s proposed utility fee to fund storm water maintenance regulations passed down from the federal government.

The fee levied by the city varies on the structure and size of the business, but Rathje said the fee for her family-owned company, , amounts to $6,000 a month, which she said is far too steep of an amount.

Not only is that costly for her business, but she said she worries that business won’t move to Marion because of the sharp cost of the fee.

But aside from that, and Iowa’s commercial tax rate, which has been commonly called many things, including "archaic," being in business in Marion is not all bad.

Phil High, owner of , said Marion's local government has been responsive to his concerns.

"They are decent, nice people," he said. "If you treat them nice, they treat you nice back."

That doesn't mean he’s happy with everything the City of Marion has done or is planning on doing. For example, he has had some serious reservations with the uptown street-scape project and Seventh Avenue reconstruction, but he said that after approaching them on specific issues regarding these projects, he’s gotten results, even if he still isn’t 100 percent on board.

He said he accepts that there are some sacrifices and compromises necessary to owning and operating a business in Marion, like the Swamp Fox Festival, when he said he receives little to no business. 

To him, owning a business is being part of a larger community, which always entails compromise.

"My point is that we run this business, so the parade in September is a donation," he said. "We lose money that day and that’s OK. I understand it's for the greater good and that it is never going to be perfect."