FARGO, N.D. – Officials and the Fargo City Commission gathered Thursday to discuss the infrastructure sales tax (IST) and a possible extension of it.
“These funds are legally restricted to core needs in the city of Fargo,” City Administrator Michael Redlinger said. “They are, in fact, strictly dedicated to streets, water supply, water treatment, sewage and flood control, ensuring safe and reliable infrastructure.”
He cautioned those gathered that the IST is not new – it’s been in effect for the past 20 years.
The tax ends in December 2028.
Redlinger says the tax, in 2025, generated approximately $34 for core infrastructure.
“This benefited all areas of Fargo, not just growth, not just localized areas,” he said. “The funding touches nearly every neighborhood, every road, every bit of water and sewer repair and infrastructure citywide.”
Should the sales tax end, there would be a larger reliance on special assessments.
“That’s something that this commission has talked about for several years, that we want to try remove that burden of special assessments, especially on fixed income seniors, as well as those in our core neighborhoods throughout Fargo,” Redlinger said. “So we think that this is really an opportunity for us to share that cost with many, many payers in a shared sales tax model versus having just a few people more heavily face that burden on those on those responsibilities of cost.”
