Minot staff outlines 2025 North Dakota legislative outcomes affecting water, taxes and hub-city aid

Shane Gettle, a city staff member, briefed the Minot City Council on the 2025 North Dakota legislative session on Monday, outlining measures that staff says will have the greatest impact on the city.

Gettle told the council that the legislature approved a two‑year state budget of roughly $20.3 billion and that the package includes large appropriations for water and flood projects the city has pursued. “Notably $562,860,000 for water supply projects statewide, of which $106,860,000 is earmarked for the Northwest Area Water Supply,” Gettle said. He also said the session provided about $117,600,000 for flood control statewide, with $81,100,000 specifically designated for the Mouse River project affecting Minot.

Gettle described changes to the state’s hub‑city distribution of oil‑related revenues and presented staff estimates for Minot under the new formulas. Under the so‑called 4/5ths gross production tax allocation, he said Minot could expect roughly $6.3 million in the first fiscal year and $5.8 million in the second year — about $12.2 million for the upcoming biennium using the legislature’s conservative oil‑price assumptions. He also explained a new Hub City debt‑relief pool that will divert a portion of extraction taxes to pay down pre‑2012 debt for Minot, Williston and Dickinson; Minot’s share was estimated at about $1 million per year under the final session language.

Gettle flagged several bills that change local government procedures and liability: House Bill 1176, a property‑tax relief and reform package funded from the state legacy fund, creates a $1,600 primary‑residence credit (up from $500), caps future local property tax budget increases generally at 3% per year unless voters approve higher levies and expands renter and veteran credits. He said the measure was declared an emergency and will apply to the current tax year.

On civic process, Gettle noted Senate Bill 2180 (as presented at the meeting) requires political subdivisions to adopt public‑comment rules: commenters must supply a name and address to staff (the address remains confidential), governing bodies may set reasonable time limits and may restrict comments to agenda items. “The governing body is to adopt a public comment policy addressing relevance, decorum, and legal boundaries,” Gettle said.

Gettle also summarized a broad municipal‑court overhaul that will require municipal courts in cities of more than 5,000 to have licensed attorneys as judges, create courts of record by July 1, 2026, and allow smaller cities to use non‑attorney judges under specified conditions.

Other items covered: a $300 million state appropriation for a new state psychiatric hospital in Jamestown; expanded wastewater and water‑infrastructure grant programs; changes to eminent‑domain survey and notice rules; and a package of election law changes that include stricter recall petition thresholds and requirements for absentee ballots to arrive by closing time on election day.

Gettle closed by urging the council to track the work of a newly empowered interim Water Topics Overview Committee, which the legislature authorized to review and prioritize water projects seeking more than $10 million in state cost share — a committee Gettle said could shape funding for multi‑biennium projects such as the Mouse River flood control work.

Ending: Council members thanked Gettle and several asked follow‑up questions about estimated dollar impacts on Minot’s budget and on opportunities for interim engagement with legislators. Gettle said staff will continue monitoring grant and appropriation opportunities and will provide updates as projects progress.