WEST FARGO — For West Fargo residents who want to discuss the cost or rise of property taxes with city leaders, they will have to watch for a public hearing to be held sometime before Aug. 22 instead of last week’s board of equalization meeting, which many found was not the place for tax talk.
Instead, the Tuesday, April 12, Board of Equalization annual meeting was focused on property valuations.
The West Fargo City Commission acts as its own board of equalization, the governing body that oversees property valuations, which are calculated by the city assessor.
“The local board of equalization is concerned with the equity of all values, not taxes,” Mayor Bernie Dardis said. “Property taxes are a budgeting issue and should be addressed at another meeting.”
While about 20 residents attended the meeting, the first four who signed up to speak to the board said they came to discuss increases in taxes, not property valuations.
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City Administrator Tina Fisk said a public hearing for residents to dispute or comment on city taxes will be held during budgeting. While she did not yet have a date for that meeting, she said it will occur before Aug. 22.
“I’m at the wrong meeting, because I’m more concerned with the taxes,” one resident said.
Residents can sign up with the city of West Fargo to receive direct alerts for upcoming public meetings. The West Fargo Pioneer will also continue to publish notices of such meetings.
In the meantime, West Fargo City Assessor Nick Lee presented the department’s annual report, which is based in the last year and 2021 markets.
Lee noted that “2021 was quite the year for real estate.”
The report shows West Fargo has grown in population by 46% in the past 10 years. In 2021, new residential permits were down 25%, but the value of those permits was up about 18%. There were 3,683 new single-family and twinhomes and 2,327 multi-family units built in West Fargo in 2021.
“We analyzed our overall values and adjusted them according to the rapidly changing markets of 2021,” Lee said.
In 2021, Lee said, residential permit values remained stable, coming in at about $112.8 million, down slightly from 2012 when the permit values totaled about $117.3 million. Commercial building permits totaled $84.1 million, nearly double what it was 10 years ago when it was $48.9 million.
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A handful of business owners asked to make appointments with Lee in private due to increased valuations of their business properties such as Harley Davidson, All Season Motorsports, Microtel Inn and Suites and Industrial Builders.
A representative from Industrial Builders said Tuesday that the company’s valuations increased by 45% this year. While the property has been annexed into the city, the representative said it does not use city water or sewer services. She said the cost of doing business in West Fargo went up last year more than $260,000.
The owner of All Season Motorsports said their values went up about 25%.
If property owners wish to continue to protest their valuation after meeting with the city assessor’s staff, they can file a protest with the Cass County Board of Equalization.
Readers can reach West Fargo editor Wendy Reuer at wreuer@forumcomm.com or 701-241-5530 . Follow her on Twitter @ForumWendy .
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