Council closes missed-advertisement gap, approves tax abatements under Make Morehead Home rebate program

The Moorhead City Council held a required public hearing and approved abatement of property taxes under the Make Morehead Home Property Tax Rebate Program after staff disclosed they had not published the annual property listing and held the public hearing in prior years due to staff turnover.

Lisa Boney, the city—s government affairs director, told the council the rebate program had been approved jointly by the city, the school district and the county and offered a rebate of taxes paid for the first two full years after construction for newly built homes. She said taxpayers had paid their taxes and already received the rebates in accordance with program guidelines, but the city failed to publish the list of participating properties and hold the annual hearing because of a training lapse when staff changed.

"The property owners received their paid their taxes, received their rebates. We didn't print a listing of all the properties in the newspaper of record or hold this hearing," Boney said, explaining the hearing now remedies that missed administrative step.

No members of the public spoke at the hearing. Council Member Heather Niesmeyer moved to approve the abatement; the motion was seconded and passed on an affirmative voice vote.

Why it matters: the hearing was a procedural requirement under the program—s administrative process. Boney said the city had consulted the city attorney and that all affected properties for the 2025 program year had been advertised before the hearing.

Quotes in this article are from Lisa Boney during the public hearing presentation to the Moorhead City Council.