T-R PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY — The Animal Rescue League of Marshalltown has a donation box set up at the Marshalltown Public Library throughout the month of January.

The special election for a vote on implementing a five percent franchise fee on utility bills within the city of Marshalltown slated for March 7, 2023, has been canceled.

According to a press release from the city, the Secretary of State, through the Marshall County Auditor’s Office, determined the city could not call a special election on a franchise fee, as a special election could only be held through a petition. The petition would require the number of signatures of at least 10 percent of the number of voters in the most recent city election held in November of 2021, which would be around 250.

The city council will discuss the process for implementing a franchise fee at a future meeting. “This is a disappointing decision,” City Administrator Jessica Kinser said. “The City Council approved the special election to hear from voters on the issue of a franchise fee. It is unfortunate that state law won’t allow for the openness and transparency we were striving for.” No meeting date has been set for a future discussion. During a subsequent interview, Kinser explained that the city believed it was following state law in calling for the election.

“The thing that I think has been most disappointing is we tried to conduct this process in a way that we were being open to the public and very transparent in wanting their feedback before we did anything, and that just wasn’t the proper way to do it,” she said. “Which means we’ll go back to the drawing board and figure out where we fit.”

According to Kinser, the city now has two options: amending its current ordinance and putting the item on the ballot during the November general election or making the amendments and allowing for a petition that would place the franchise fee on the ballot in September during a special election.

The franchise fee vote is not currently on the agenda for Monday night’s regular city council meeting, but Kinser said she expects the three councilors who have been working on it the most — Dex Walker, Jeff Schneider and Gabe Isom — to regroup and come back with a new proposal at some point in the future.

“I don’t have an exact date because I have no idea how the budget is gonna go when you start talking about election stuff,” Kinser said. “I would speculate that we’ll still have some conversation and that there will be a recommendation to move forward on one path or the other, but I have no idea what that would look like or when we would have that on a city council agenda for discussion.”

In light of the lack of concrete plans in place at this point, Mayor Joel Greer echoed Kinser’s frustration but relayed his hopes that the cancellation will allow more time for councilors and citizens alike to delve deeper into the nuances of the franchise fee.

“I was immediately disappointed that we aren’t moving forward on it now,” said Greer. “I am actually hopeful that this will give everybody on the council, and every citizen, more time to learn why we need this to go forward and more time to get ready for it, all in the name of more transparency.”