Fargo commissioners certify 2025 assessment roll after assessor’s reappraisal briefing; dozens of appeals moved to pending

Assessor Michael Brown briefed the Fargo Board of Equalization on a yearlong reappraisal and sales-ratio review Tuesday, and the board voted unanimously to certify the 2025 assessment roll while moving appeals received at today’s session into pending status.

Brown told the mayor and commissioners the office adjusted values on roughly 18,000 properties this year and sent about 6,100 notices of value increase. The city’s total true and full value is about $23,000,000,000, a 4.75% increase over last year, he said. Projected taxable value for 2025 was given as $882,000,900, and Brown said a mill is worth about $882,900.

The presentation conveyed why some property classes changed. Brown said commercial sales ratios were about 97.2% before reappraisal and 96.4% after; office and apartment sales showed softening, so the assessor’s office lowered values for those property types by about 5%. Residential sales ratios improved from about 91% before local review to 94.9% after the office’s adjustments. "This Board of Equalization is being conducted pursuant to North Dakota Century Code 50-07-11.03," Brown said, noting the board’s authority to equalize assessments.

Why it matters: certification sets the bulk of the city’s taxable values for the year and starts the clock on remaining appeal rights at the municipal level. Brown told the board that certifying the roll today means property owners who did not file a city-level appeal can still appeal at the county level but not at the city level.

Public commenters described large, sometimes sudden, year-over-year valuation increases and presented individualized appeals to begin the city’s appeal process. Dana Woodruff, a condo owner in North Fargo, told the board she believed a small sample size in sales data distorted the mass-appraisal model for her building and asked that her unit be equalized to $107.55 per square foot. "The computers kinda got it wrong," Woodruff said, describing what she called a data-modeling error and noting she had discussed the issue with assessor staff.

Other speakers cited increases ranging from double-digit percentages to more than 30% in single years. Cindy Butke said her four-unit condo’s assessed value rose about 30% in one year; Tammy Norgard said her house rose about $300,000 over two years and asked for a review. Business representatives also appealed commercial assessments: Paul Anderson said two properties he represents increased by more than 20%, and Jeff Reynolds of Northern Improvement Company asked the assessor to review a nearly $2.15 million jump in the assessed value of a landfill site.

Brown described administrative details and relief programs: the assessor’s office requested access to about 7,500 properties for review and gained access to roughly 2,700 (about a 36.5% access rate). He explained the homestead credit rules being discussed at the state legislature, saying the current program allows homeowners 65 or older with household income under $40,000 to exempt up to $200,000 of true and full value and other income tiers to receive smaller credits. Brown also noted a proposed change to disabled-veteran credits being discussed at the legislature.

On formal action, the board approved three motions by roll call: (1) move all appeals filed today or on the provided list into pending status; (2) approve the valuations in the 2025 assessment roll; and (3) recess the Board of Equalization to 7:30 a.m. April 29 to complete pending appeals. All votes were recorded as unanimous. After those motions the mayor closed the session.

The Board provided no final rulings on individual appeals at this meeting; Brown said recommendations on the appeals will be presented to the commission at the reconvened session later this month.

Votes at a glance: certify 2025 assessment roll (approved, roll call unanimous); move today’s appeals into pending status (approved, roll call unanimous); recess to April 29, 7:30 a.m., to complete appeals (approved, roll call unanimous).

Looking ahead: the board will reconvene April 29 to hear pending appeals and receive the assessor’s recommendations for each appealed property. The assessor’s office also said it aims to review neighborhoods on a roughly five-year rotation and will continue to publish property information on FargoParcels.com.