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Fargo Board of Equalization certifies 2025 assessments; staff recommendations approved and unresolved appeals sent to county
Summary
The Fargo Board of Equalization approved city staff valuation recommendations for hundreds of properties, certified the 2025 assessment roll and forwarded unresolved appeals to the Cass County Board of Equalization. Commissioners discussed appeal statistics, two expired TIFs and options for owners to continue appeals.
The Fargo Board of Equalization voted to certify the city's 2025 property assessments and approved city staff recommendations on appeals, forwarding unresolved cases to the Cass County Board of Equalization.
The action came after City assessor staff told the board the office received about 171 appeal filings this cycle — roughly 2.8% of all notices of increase — and recommended retaining or adjusting values in a packet that officials reviewed during the meeting. "This year we had about 171 appeals and that is about 2.8% of all the notices of increase that we sent out to all the citizens," City Assessor Mike said in his recap. "Of those 171 appeals, 51% of the appeals received a reduction with an average reduction of about 9%."
Why it matters: certification sends the city's finalized assessment roll to the county for inclusion in the tax roll. Owners who disagree may continue appeals at the county level and then at the state board if necessary.
Board discussion and staff findings City staff presented valuation analyses for multiple commercial properties and summarized results across appeal categories. James Haley, deputy city assessor, reviewed three contested downtown parcels owned or represented by NetReit and described the office-market comparables the assessor's office used to support current values. "We have the subject valued at $137 per square foot," Haley said about the Alaris/Dakota Center, adding that other mid-rise office sales in Fargo this cycle supported the assessor's position to retain value pending further market information.
Property owners and their representatives argued the assessor's sales comparables were not representative of the market and urged more use of an income approach for distressed or high-vacancy buildings. Jennifer Carruth, who identified herself as representing NetReit 300 NP and NetReit Fargo LLC, said vacancy and declining net operating income made the assessor's sales selections less relevant. "Vacancy has been consistently over 25% for the past 4 years," Carruth said of the Dakota Center, and she pressed staff to consider an income-based valuation given limited relevant sales.
A single owner who addressed the board in person, Paul Anderson of Anderson Investment LLP (lessee Fargo Tire Service), protested an increase in his property's valuation. "Last year to this year was an unreasonable amount of increase in my opinion," Anderson said, referencing state statutory limits; he continued his abatement request after staff explained the next appeal steps.
TIF expirations and valuation changes Staff also noted two tax increment financing (TIF) districts expired this year, including the downtown Cityscapes building (about $23,000,000) and a separate apartment building (about $4,500,000), which affected assessed-base calculations. Staff said they reduced office and apartment class valuations by 5% for 2025 after recent sales trends showed assessed values were high for those property types.
Votes and formal actions The board approved a motion to adopt staff recommendations across the packet of appeals, including the list of resolved appeals (where owners accepted adjusted values) and the list of unresolved appeals the city could not fully investigate prior to certification. The board also voted to forward the unresolved appeals to the Cass County Board of Equalization for hearing.
Each motion passed on roll-call votes with the recorded votes in favor from Commissioners Peppcorn, Strand, Kolpak, Turnberg and Mayor Mahoney. City staff repeated that owners who remain dissatisfied may present at the Cass County Board of Equalization on June 3; the State Board of Equalization is available afterward (August date not specified by staff).
Next steps The board certified the assessment roll and closed the city's 2025 assessment year, sending the package to the county for inclusion in the tax roll. Owners pursuing further review were directed to the Cass County Board of Equalization hearing on June 3 at 3:30 p.m.; staff also described the formal state-level appeal process in August.
The board adjourned after completing the certification and appeal-forwarding motions.
