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.  … Continue reading More thoughts on Special Assessments

I’ve written about the topic of annexation before and how it impacts Special Assessments.  Let me start by saying Special Assessments suck.  However, it’s the tool we have today to pay for our city infrastructure needs and if we are going to use them, we need to make sure we strive for making the assessments as fair as possible.  How would you feel if the … Continue reading Annexation and Special Assessments

I’ve written a few blogs about the annexation issue related to Special Assessments; my common example is the Red River Valley Fairgrounds.  The Fairgrounds are not in the city of West Fargo although they use our water, sewer, garbage, and you can’t get there without driving on West Fargo roads.  So, when Main Avenue was rebuilt a number of years ago they didn’t have to … Continue reading Issues with Special Assessments

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 … Continue reading Annexation and Special Assessments

I wanted to provide a little more data to a post I made last week.  Following the January 20, 2020 West Fargo Commission meeting a resident made a somewhat misleading post claiming the city commission handed out over $30 million in Special Assessments without any discussion.  This is misleading because no Assessments were given out and the discussions go back as late as 2015 on … Continue reading Understanding the Assessment Process

I’ve written on this topic before (Fair Assessments and Specials are not Special) but I wanted to provide a few quick thoughts on Special Assessments given a flurry of Facebook posts today.  “He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight.” – The Art of War First, contrary to popular opinion fighting a Special Assessment at the tail end of a … Continue reading Pain in my Assessment!