Too many things have become political and divisive in this country and that has crept into local government.  As an elected city official I think it’s important to separate the decisions where public input is important versus the decisions that are simply a question of right versus wrong. 

On March 15, 2021 the West Fargo City Commission ignored doing what is right for political reasons.  A bedrock principal (in my opinion) of city government is fair taxation.  Unfortunately, this hasn’t been happening fairly for our Westside community and Main Avenue businesses for decades.   The city has forced these residents and businesses to pay higher assessments, so the Red River Valley Fairgrounds doesn’t have to pay anything.  That is what happens when you selectively choose to not annex a property that for all other reasons is considered in West Fargo.  This should be illegal. 

Now, the Fair has played the politics of this superbly by saying they can’t afford specials and trying to suggest a vote to annex them is a vote against their existence.  That is a red herring!    Nobody wants to get rid of the Fair (or Bonanzaville).  It’s also not a money grab by the city because both organizations are nonprofits and pay almost nothing in property tax.  The Fair Board is responsible to run their organization in a way that generates sufficient revenue to pay their bills.  Expecting them to do that isn’t a vote against their existence.      

A vote to annex them is a vote to support the integrity of the main financing mechanism of the city by insuring its fairness to all residents, nonprofits, and businesses.  This shouldn’t be a debatable point by any city commissioner.  Let’s be honest, Specials Assessments suck.  That said, if we are going to use Special Assessments, fairness should be a minimum expectation by all taxpayers.  Ignoring this issue undermines that very fundamental requirement and more importantly, undermines the primary financing tool for the entire city.  I can’t in good conscience vote to hand out future Special Assessments when the city commission has so boldly proven they don’t care about making them right or fair. 

There are lots of residents, businesses, and nonprofits in West Fargo and many struggle to pay their Assessments.  There is no affordability test given when the city hands out Specials.  We don’t ask if you can afford it (and give it to someone else if you can’t).  However, the city commission voted to let the Fair keep dumping their responsibilities on the backs of their neighbors.  It is wrong.