FARGO, N.D. – Voters in Fargo will head to the polls in June and vote on a 20-year extension on the city’s existing one-percent infrastructure sales tax.
Assistant City Administrator Brenda Derrig explained where the tax funds are used in the city.
“This is about strategic planning for our core infrastructure,” she said. “Our streets, our water, our water supply and wastewater.”
Derrig told commissioners that the tax is the single tool that ensures visitors help pay for the wear and tear on city streets. Without the tax, the burden of paying these costs would land directly on the residents of the city solely.
In 2025, the one-cent tax brought in approximately $34 million.
“If this expires, the funding goes away, but the work does not stop,” Derrig said. “The repair bills are still going to have to get paid, and this is a choice between shared sales tax or a burden on local residents and businesses.”
Revenue is equal to approximately 75 percent of the city’s property tax collection, she said.
Commissioner Denise Kolpack reminded the community that the sales tax is an extension ‘of an existing sales tax.’
“That’s really important to reinforce here,” she said.
The Commission approved the measure 4-1, with Commissioner Dave Piepkorn voting no.
