Mandan leaders weigh 1.75% sales-tax bond to pay for wastewater plant, fire station, city-hall and police upgrades

At a special Jan. 13 meeting, the Mandan City Commission discussed placing a sales-tax bond measure on the 2026 ballot to finance a package of capital projects, including an estimated $114,000,000 wastewater treatment plant, a new Fire Station No. 3, work on city hall and expansion or upgrades for the police department. Staff and bond counsel outlined financing choices and next steps; commissioners asked for RFPs and public outreach materials to be prepared in time for a 2026 ballot decision.

The city’s finance advisor, Michael Brunson, said the utility-rate analysis completed last year estimated the wastewater treatment plant at “about a $114,000,000.” He told the commission the state revolving fund could provide low-cost loans at about 2% and that the city is considering two scenarios: increase utility rates alone to pay debt service, or pair rate increases with a voter-approved 1% sales tax to reduce the household rate impact during a five-year ramp-up. Brunson said the analysis showed the five-year total monthly impact for a typical household would be “a little over $57” without the 1% sales tax and “about $22 to $23” with it, a roughly $34–$35 monthly difference over that period.

Why it matters: commissioners framed wastewater and Fire Station No. 3 as immediate priorities because of aging infrastructure and service needs; city hall and police facilities were described as necessary but possibly phased later. One commissioner urged urgency: “It has to go now. It has to start now,” reflecting concern about timing and escalating construction costs.

How it could be paid for: staff and bond counsel outlined options including state revolving loans for wastewater, Bank of North Dakota infrastructure loans (limited capacity), general obligation (GO) bonds (which require a 60% supermajority) and a capital-projects levy (majority approval but a 10-mill cap). Bond counsel, Scott Wagner, advised the commission on ballot-language choices—whether to set a fixed time limit for the sales tax, list estimated costs by project or use a lump-sum estimate—and noted that a sales-tax revenue bond typically stands on the pledged sales-tax revenue (no property-tax backstop) unless structured otherwise.

Staff also reviewed sales-tax timing and constraints: a 0.75% park-district sales tax currently in place is projected to be paid off in late 2027 or early 2028; collections from any new voter-approved sales tax would not begin until the existing tax sunsets and after standard implementation procedures (tax department notification and quarter-start timing). Staff noted roughly $6,000,000 available in a remediation trust fund that could be applied toward city hall work.

Next steps and commission direction: commissioners broadly favored a sales-tax approach as a practical funding mechanism and asked staff to do the following: prepare RFPs for city-hall design (both remodel and new-build concepts), continue design and public-engagement work for Fire Station No. 3, draft ballot language and timelines for a 2026 measure (with November discussed as the likely target), and pursue public outreach and polling to shape final project packaging. Staff said statutory deadlines (for example, county-auditor filing windows) and tax-department lead times will determine the final schedule.

What was not decided: the commission did not adopt final ballot language or formally set the ballot question during the special meeting; no final vote on a bond measure occurred. Commissioners discussed contingencies if a ballot measure failed, including holding a later special election or continuing portions of projects via utility-rate financing.

The commission closed by asking staff to return with recommended ballot language, design options and outreach plans at an early-February follow-up meeting so the city can meet statutory timing requirements for any 2026 ballot placement.