District 18 lawmakers believe local control is best with property taxes

Dec. 28—GRAND FORKS — Some Republican lawmakers in North Dakota are pitching an idea to reduce property taxes and use a portion of investment earnings from a state savings account to cover the difference.

Ideas about reducing property taxes have wafted across the state in recent months,

including a pitch in September by a team of western Republican lawmakers

to cut taxes by about 25%. Their idea proposes using Legacy Fund earnings to help pay for the cut.

In October, Forum News Service reported that Rep. Rick Becker, R-Bismarck,

suggested a constitutional measure to cut property taxes

and pay for it with budget cuts, oil tax money and the imposition of a tax on property transfers.

Gov. Doug Burgum, meanwhile, believes local governments must do more to reduce property taxes.

Deeper cuts to property taxes, he said earlier this year, has the effect of growing local government spending.

Where do the three veteran lawmakers from District 18 stand?

When asked by the Grand Forks Herald their opinion on property taxes, Sen. Scott Meyer and Rep. Steve Vetter, both of whom are Republicans, appear to be hesitant for the state to make big changes and are interested in maintaining local control. Rep. Corey Mock, a Democrat, appears interested in at least giving proposals a good look; he said the state should "play a role" in the process, but he also believes "local governance is best."

The North Dakota Legislature convenes on Jan. 3, and when it does, District 18 will again be represented by Meyer, Mock and Vetter, all of whom are from Grand Forks. The district generally includes eastern Grand Forks east of 20th street and an area along Interstate 29 to the Red River, past Manvel.

"Property tax relief is important but also dangerous because of how property taxes work in the state of North Dakota," Vetter said. "Property taxes are issued by what are called political subdivisions such as the school board, the water board, the city of Grand Forks, and other relevant agencies who use a complicated millage system to create your total tax burden."

Vetter said that when the state steps in, "it inadvertently incentivizes these subdivisions to further raise your property taxes. Due to this relief, citizens do not know what their true property taxes are and are unable to hold their local municipalities responsible."

Property taxes have been a top-of-mind issue in Grand Forks County. Earlier this year, the County Commission boosted property taxes in an effort to raise money for projects that commissioners say are greatly needed, ranging from infrastructure work on things like roads and culverts to upgrades at the Grand Forks County Correctional Center, to repairs on the courthouse dome, to construction of a new juvenile detention center.

A recent report in the Herald

said the total price tag for the proposed projects is around $38 million.

"All of these projects, they're not wants," County Administrator Tom Ford has said. "They're needs, and they all come with significant price tags."

The list of projects prompted the commission to ask county voters to adopt a home rule charter, which allows entities to more freely operate without as many restrictions by the state. Under home rule, for instance, commissioners can propose new taxes — although voters still have the final say.

In November, voters in the county approved the home rule charter but an associated half-cent sales tax to help pay for the projects — and reduce property taxes, proponents vowed — failed.

Vetter mentioned the recent Grand Forks County sales-tax vote in his response to the Herald, but did not offer an opinion one way or another about its failure. He did, however, say that political subdivisions must be responsible for their own property tax fates.

"Ultimately, despite billions in relief over the past decade, the amount of property tax people pay has not materially fallen, and in some cases has even risen," he said. "In order to hold political subdivisions accountable, we cannot keep picking up the bill."

Meyer noted that property tax discussions have been common during his years in the Legislature.

"This is another conversation that comes up each session from legislative buydowns to the takeover of county social services. The problem many have is when the state gets involved, there is less local control," Meyer said. "While I have seen a couple of proposals to assist with property taxes, most of your property taxes are levied by the school board, county and city. Residents need to reach out to these entities for answers on local spending."

Mock is more open to conversations about property tax relief. He believes "the state can and should play a role" in the process.

"Property taxes are a frequent conversation each legislative session — and rightfully so. Owners pay the county a property tax of roughly 1-2% its assessed value every year. And because it's the single largest tax most North Dakotans pay on a regular basis, it's worthy of frequent and critical evaluation," Mock said. "The state can and should play a role in reducing pressure on property taxes, but we have a razor thin edge to balance when doing so. There is no state property tax; all property taxes are levied for local public schools as well as city and county services."

Like his Republican counterparts in District 18, Mock still believes "local governance is best." The more that a higher level of government gets involved, he said, more control is exerted from above.

"Federal and state 'intrusion' on local matters should be limited, at best," he said. "We can and should provide property tax relief by fully funding our state's commitment for public education, public health and social services, as well as critical infrastructure. North Dakota has already made significant progress in these efforts and we have road maps of success we can follow as we meet our needs and ease pressure on local taxpayers."