Tonight’s city commission meeting includes a discussion and approval for the annexation of four properties that many people probably assume are already located in West Fargo…they are not.  These four properties along the Sheyenne River south of the I-94 have never been annexed.  This was an agreement the city made many years ago (to not annex these properties) so those land owners would agree to the annexation of their farmland (which has been largely developed over the last 15 years).  I don’t intend to second guess a decision from 15 years ago but I will say that when a city uses special assessments, as their primary financing tool for projects, that your annexation strategy must take that into consideration. 

If you live in West Fargo south of I-94 it’s likely you have experienced numerous special assessments since buying or building your home.  This is because the city has grown quickly, invested in significant infrastructure, and made many improvements.  Those expenses are handed out to neighboring property owners in the form of a special assessment.  It’s safe to say that nobody likes special assessments; however, most people assume they are handed out fairly.  They assume that if an improvement is made that their neighbor across the street likely pays the approximate same amount as they do.  We just assume that everyone pays their fair share.  That is exactly how it is supposed to work…unless your neighboring property was never annexed. 

The four properties I’m referencing have seen the value of their land skyrocket over these 15 years in part because of the investments being made around them.  They have never been assessed for any of these improvements!  That would be bad enough on it’s own but there is another detail that makes it even worse.  The share they should have paid is simply divided across everyone else’s assessment.  This means, that they city has made one property owner effectively pay the taxes that should fairly belong to another.  This should be illegal in my opinion! 

There is a lot of talk by candidates right now about getting rid of special assessments.  That would be great! Unfortunately, it’s not realistic without a BIG change in revenues…the money must come from somewhere. Until that plan is created we should at least make sure that assessments are fair and equitable between property owners.  The city should have an absolute focus on transparency and fairness when it comes to this process.  This issue is being resolved going forward but there are literally thousands of property owners who will be paying off these assessments for years…paying a little extra every year for these four property owners.  This same issue still exists on the north side of I-94 because of the Red River Valley Fairgrounds.  Property owners in Westside have been paying extra on their assessments for decades and effectively are forced (via a tax) to support a nonprofit entity (whether they wanted to or not).  It’s time the city resolves these issues as well!