Voters in 2 North Dakota counties reject property tax increases

Voters in two North Dakota counties Tuesday defeated ballot measures to raise property taxes beyond a 3% cap set by the Legislature last year. 

The measures came as an early sign of how some counties have grappled to cover rising costs under the limitation set by the Legislature last year.

Divide County asked voters to approve an additional 2%, or about $37,800 per year over the next four years to help fund the county’s operations. Voters said “no” by a 53% majority, according to complete but unofficial results. Divide turnout was nearly 58%, well above the barely 40% statewide. 

In Traill County, officials put on a measure of an additional 6.41%, or about $461,000 per year over the next four years, to help fund various services due to increasing costs and hiring competition with nearby Fargo and Grand Forks. Voters shot it down by more than 61%. Traill turnout was about 50%, also above the statewide number.

Additionally, seven county measures for increased mill levies failed around the state; only one passed, said Donnell Preskey, government/public relations specialist for the North Dakota Association of Counties. 

“The economy is a big concern, and I think people are just not wanting any more expenses,” she said.

2 North Dakota counties ask voters to override property tax cap

Divide and Traill county officials previously told the North Dakota Monitor that they would have to make budget cuts if voters rejected the measures. Potential examples include full-time positions moved to part-time, delayed road projects and no salary increases.

For such measures to pass, citizens need to better understand the need for more revenue, Preskey said. Counties will have to prioritize and cut certain things due to their limited revenue, she said.

The 2025 Legislature set the 3% cap on annual property tax increases by local governments as part of an expansion of a primary residence property tax credit. The legislation came months after a 2024 ballot initiative that sought to eliminate assessed-value property taxes and force the state to pick up the tab for billions of dollars in replacement revenue. Voters rejected that measure. 

Many counties have used reserves and/or all or part of the 3% property tax increase allowed by law for their 2026 budget, according to data Preskey presented to lawmakers this year.

The Association of Counties supports exceptions to the 3% cap for counties’ difficult costs of health insurance, elections and jails.

House Finance and Taxation Committee Chairman Craig Headland, R-Montpelier, has said he senses no appetite to increase or eliminate the 3% cap.

Reach North Dakota Monitor reporter Jack Dura at [email protected].