Counties Grapple with Tighter Budgets
County officials from across North Dakota aired real-world concerns and creative problem-solving as they navigated the state’s new 3% property tax cap at the North Dakota Association of Counties’ annual conference Wednesday in Bismarck. The day two session packed the room with commissioners, auditors and other officials, to hear how others have traversed this year’s balancing act, while being wary of what lies ahead.
“For years, we’ve talked about differentiating salary tiers to help with retention-this year, we finally implemented it,” said Nathan Berseth, Richland County Commissioner. To soften the fiscal blow, counties like Richland shifted higher pay raises to those earning less than $59,000, while the rest received smaller bumps. The goal: keep up with rising health insurance costs without forcing lower-paid staff backward financially.
Ward, Foster, and Richland counties described tough choices around deferred expenses-postponed equipment, unfilled positions, and the strategic use of cash reserves. In a statewide survey, 70 percent of counties reported tapping into reserves to close budget gaps. Yet about the same planned to carry forward some of their allowed “cap,” aiming to smooth the impact for taxpayers in future years.
~Western Dakota
Energy Association
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