A new city sales tax bump is racing down City Hall's back stretch toward a finish line at the ballot box before the end of the year-and on Monday evening, it was once again approved by members of the Grand Forks Committee of the Whole who nearly all seemed to have a different take on its future.
"Mayor, I don't like your plan, but I don't like any plan," City Council president Dana Sande told Mayor Mike Brown, drawing laughs from other city leaders. "Unfortunately, all this is is a Band-Aid, because we don't have a long-term revenue stream for roads, (so) I'm happy to support the mayor's concept."
Sande offered his remarks at a special meeting of the committee, which voted 6-0 without member Crystal Schneider present to forward the mayor's sales tax plan to the full City Council. It's expected to be discussed at an Aug. 7 meeting, and once again on Aug. 21, the soonest date a hike could win the approvals it needs to face voters in a citywide referendum.
Monday's meeting was a special meeting of the Committee of the Whole, and the sales tax matter was the only item on the agenda.
The mayor's plan has the same general outlines it's had all summer, raising city sales tax rates 0.5 percent for 20 years with a $12.50 cap on the total tax per purchase. That means that if it goes into effect, local tax rates would jump to a 2.25 percent city sales tax. With state sales taxes wrapped in, customers would pay a total 7.25 percent sales tax at the register.
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But Monday evening offered a great deal more nuance than past meetings. City staff offered a lengthy presentation breaking down cash flow and the ways the tax would be used, projecting a $5 million annual revenue stream. City Administrator Todd Feland said $3 million each year would be used to expand and repair local roads-not to fund big-ticket projects, like an Interstate 29 interchange-and the remaining $2 million would be used to help build the city's new water treatment plant now under construction on the city's western edge.
The tax would also help buy down special assessment rates, both for simple road repairs and large reconstruction projects. That's a new argument in the city's arsenal, which already includes capturing visitors' dollars and preventing steeper utility rate hikes.
But not everyone is so sure about the tax. City Council member Jeannie Mocks said she doubts she'll stand in the tax's way, but still has reservations about sending it back to the ballot box so soon after this past November. In 2016, voters shot down a .75 percent tax hike that would have lasted 50 years. If it doesn't pass, the city severely limits its options to send it back again.
City Council member Bret Weber has his own wants for the tax. He'd like to discuss raising the purchase cap for the entire city sales tax, which he said hasn't moved in decades, at least to keep pace with inflation-if not eliminate it entirely.
"I don't think it's fair to impose a cap that would really benefit a really limited number of people-but I'm looking forward to being educated further on that by the Chamber," he said.
The meeting opened with an appeal from Brown on behalf of his plan. He called for another vote immediately after the failure of the last sales tax referendum, claiming wasted time is wasted money.
"This is the year of action and the people want action. I want action," Brown said, reading from prepared remarks. "The smartest and most strategic action is local action."
