County adopts policy to stop considering residential tax‑incentive pilots and asks legislature to limit five‑year city tax exemptions

The Grand Forks County Commission on Monday voted unanimously to adopt a policy that the county "will no longer accept or consider applications for tax incentives including payment‑in‑lieu‑of‑tax pilot agreements for residential housing projects, including single‑family homes, multifamily developments and apartment complexes," with an explicit carve‑out for care facilities.

Commissioner Berkkey read the motion and the board passed it by roll call. Commissioners framed the policy as a response to recent short‑term residential incentives approved by the city without meaningful county input and as a way to preserve county tax base and budget flexibility during a tight fiscal environment. The board’s attorney noted statutory notice requirements when cities propose pilot agreements and confirmed the county would still receive required notifications and would respond within statutory timeframes to any city‑initiated pilot notice.

Separately, the commission unanimously adopted a legislative priority asking the state of North Dakota to "repeal the authority given to cities to approve property‑tax exemptions for five years or less for any political subdivision other than themselves." The motion directs county staff to forward the request to the school board so county and school officials can coordinate lobbying efforts.

Why it matters: the motions remove county willingness to participate in short‑term residential pilot incentives and push the county’s preferred remedy to the state legislature: strip cities of unilateral authority to grant short exemptions that reduce the county tax base.

Next steps: county staff will notify relevant taxing entities of the new county policy, respond to any city pilot notices consistent with statute, and forward the legislative request to the school board and the county’s legislative contacts for joint advocacy.