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Minot council deadlocks on proposal to redirect sales-tax penny to public safety
Summary
The Minot City Council debated a proposal to redirect an existing half-cent sales-tax increment to public safety funding. After lengthy debate over economic-development trade-offs and public input timing, a motion to adopt the staff27s Option 2 failed in a 3-3 tie; an earlier motion to table the item also failed.
The Minot City Council debated a draft ordinance on Aug. 4 that would dedicate a currently earmarked sales-tax penny to public safety programs, including police, fire, dispatch and related services. Supporters said the change would create a stable funding stream for front-line services; opponents said the reallocation would eliminate a voter-approved economic-development revenue stream without adequate public outreach.
The disagreement centered on Option 2 of a staff-drafted ordinance, which relies on GASB definitions to classify eligible uses as public safety. Alderman Blessum argued the GASB language "fits us quite well" and that dedicating the funds would "take care of those that are taking care of us on the streets every single day." Alderman Olsen and others said the change would remove an established stream of economic-development money that voters had previously approved and urged more public input before repurposing the revenue.
Council members also discussed practical impacts: the series of sales-tax pennies currently funds property-tax relief and a number of capital improvements in the 2026 proposed budget, including traffic-signal replacements and façade programs. Opponents said eliminating the dedicated economic-development slice would not prevent economic development spending but would shift those decisions into the general fund, where they would compete with other priorities.
A motion to table the ordinance until the first meeting in September failed 2-4. The council then took a recorded vote on adopting Option 2; the motion failed in a 3-3 tie, with Mayor Janser, Aldermen Olsen and Pitner voting against adoption. No ordinance was adopted at the meeting. Several council members later asked staff to draft possible ballot language for a public-safety sales tax for future consideration; staff indicated they would prepare language and return with options for council review.
