Commissioners weigh future sales-tax support for diversion and worry about FEMA eligibility for townships

Commissioners discussed the next steps on diversion financing and whether the county should reserve a portion of future sales-tax revenue for the Diversion Authority contingent on city actions and federal funding.

A commissioner said the county’s special meeting was timed around a June city primary and that if Fargo voters renew a city sales tax for diversion financing, the Diversion Authority may request a small portion of the county’s sales tax later in the decade to help cover diversion costs.

Members raised a technical concern: once the diversion is operational, certain flood events that previously met FEMA disaster thresholds for federal aid may fall below those thresholds, leaving townships with damage that would not qualify for FEMA assistance. Commissioners asked whether the county’s current flood-sales-tax policy allows the county to provide smaller-scale emergency assistance for washed-out township roads, culverts or other damage that would not trigger federal disaster aid. One commissioner noted that prior policy language includes recovery projects recommended by the county engineer and suggested township requests could already fit within that definition; others said they wanted a discussion of whether the policy needs updating so the county can help townships with costs FEMA would previously have covered.

The conversation concluded with commissioners agreeing to continue the policy discussion and to coordinate with diversion authority staff and county offices as the city’s sales-tax timing and the county’s potential contribution become clearer.