What tax is the right tax?
That was the question last week when the Grand Forks City Council's Finance Committee met to talk about a library sales tax.
A solid majority of the public wants a new library, a scientific survey reported in December. But as Herald staff writer Tu-Uyen Tran reported, "how to pay for it split voters, with 44 percent favoring a ½-percent sales tax for six to seven years, 40 percent favoring a 1-percent sales tax for three to four years and 16 percent not wishing to decide between the two."
It's a tough call, especially because a 1/2-cent sales tax would increase the cost of a new library by $3.8 million in bonding costs.
But here's one piece of advice: If possible, avoid making Grand Forks' tax the highest in the state.
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Grand Forks' combined city/state sales tax sits at 6¾ cents. By comparison, Fargo and several dozen other North Dakota communities tax at a 7-cent rate.
But Fargo's rate will jump to 7.5 cents in April to pay for flood control. Valley City, Medora, Williston and Pembina also have 7.5 cent sales-tax rates; that's the highest in the state.
One more point to consider: In 2004, Fargo voters passed a sales tax increase to pay for a new Fargo Library. The vote was 63 percent in favor; the tax expired after 18 months. And the increase that the voters approved was ½ cent.
-- Tom Dennis for the Herald
