Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Bismarck commission adopts 2026 budget, adds municipal court clerk and freezes commissioners’ pay for 2026
Summary
The Bismarck City Commission approved the 2026 budget ordinance (66-38), added one municipal court deputy-clerk position to meet a state court-of-record mandate, and voted to freeze mayoral and commissioner pay for 2026. The budget uses reserves for one-time capital costs and draws debate over pay compression and fleet priorities.
The Bismarck City Commission on Tuesday approved the city’s 2026 budget (Ordinance 66-38), adding a deputy clerk position for the municipal court and authorizing specified use of reserve funds for one-time capital projects.
During a lengthy public hearing, the municipal court judge told commissioners the court faces an unfunded state mandate to become a court of record and rising caseloads. “We have some unfunded legal mandates we’re facing. Specifically, the biggest one … is becoming a court of record,” the judge said, outlining additional recording and staffing needs and citing what the court presented as roughly 99,484 new cases over five years.
Commissioners debated funding options, pay increases and program tradeoffs. The budget…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
