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Grand Forks council approves revised tax-incentive policy after public objections
Summary
After public commenters warned a proposed change would curb citizen input, the Grand Forks City Council approved a revision to its tax-incentive pilot process that moves toward a single joint meeting for multiple governing bodies and clarifies speaker time limits; council asked staff to draft final policy language.
The Grand Forks City Council on Jan. 20 approved a revision to the city’s tax-incentive pilot policy that would allow a single, joint meeting of governing bodies to receive developer presentations and set combined speaker time limits.
During public comment, Mona Leek told the council the revision felt like a “power grab” and urged fewer consultants, more opportunities for public questions and separate votes in each governing body’s own chambers. “Number 1, we certainly don’t need another consultant…Number 5, I believe each governing body should vote at their own respective meeting places,” Leek said.
Andrew Krausnick, who also spoke on the proposal, said the plan to consolidate voting meetings into one joint session and limit speakers to a combined time would reduce public input. “If you impose this 3 minute per speaker time limit… it will be yet another sign of your censorship of folks you represent,” Krausnick said. He also pressed the city for records on consultant invoices related to past projects and said residents deserve transparency about public expenditures.
Mayor Paczynski said a joint meeting was intended to streamline information-sharing across entities and could allow speakers more total time: under the current approach the revision as discussed would permit five minutes per speaker total across participating bodies and allow unlimited cumulative time for a developer presentation. The mayor asked staff to draft policy language reflecting the council’s direction.
Council members asked practical questions about venue capacity, who would pay facility costs and whether consultants should be billed to developers. City staff confirmed use of the city-owned Alaris Center and noted some facilities are available under existing agreements.
A council member moved approval of the terms discussed, Ms. Berg seconded, and the motion carried unanimously. Council directed staff to prepare the formal policy amendment for a future meeting.
What happens next: staff will draft the revised policy language and return it to the council for formal adoption. The council did not set a specific final adoption date at the meeting.
