This unjust system is what Mayor Tim Mahoney and Commissioner Mike Williams are celebrating with their press conference. I have publicly stated that I will no longer accept or approve any further incentives in Fargo, but will instead push for a low, sustainable and predictable tax rate.
I would like the people of Fargo to be clear as to what giving property tax exemptions mean for them:
When the Fargo City Commission exempts one property from paying taxes, someone else (in fact, everyone else) in Fargo pays more in their own property taxes. Your taxes are HIGHER because of the RZ, TIFs and PILOTs. Anyone who claims that the RZ and other incentives have no impact on all taxpayers either lack an understanding of the process or aren’t telling the truth.
Don’t take my word for it; call Ben Hushka in the Fargo Assessor’s Office at 701-241-1337.
If we stop offering incentives to a government-chosen and select few, I can dramatically reduce your property taxes tomorrow. Again, anytime we lower taxes on someone else, we raise your taxes.
Incentives hurt schools, parks, the county, airport and other taxing entities. When the Fargo City Commission exempts properties, we don’t exempt them only from Fargo’s taxes, we exempt them from ALL property taxes. We don’t even ask the other sub-divisions if they approve of specific exemptions. Lower property taxes don’t hurt schools…these incentive programs do.
We are not currently incentivizing growth in Fargo; we are incentivizing growth in downtown. There is a huge difference. Many of the companies receiving these incentives said they were going to remain here or come to Fargo anyway, but decided to move downtown because of these incentives. Another company that received $750,000 said they didn’t need the exemption, but decided to apply for it because it was available.This is one more way where we are picking winners and losers.
While the RZ only offers a five-year exemption, we have taken up the practice of stacking incentives upon incentives; there are times where we are exempting properties for 25 years and, in some cases, we do so against our own policy. This means that it will take 30+ years to break even on that “investment.” That is a dangerously risky and dreadful return for the taxpayers of Fargo. The reality is that the vast majority of development happens without exemptions, and the majority of those receiving the exemptions don’t need them.
The other Fargo City Commissioners will tell you what a success the RZ has been. To that I say, if you artificially lower property taxes for a select few and make all other residents pay for that “investment,” you will see values go up in downtown, absolutely. The bottom line is that this is an unfair system that picks winners and losers at the expense of all taxpayers who are not exempt, while at the same time taking money away from schools, parks, county and the airport. Additionally, the RZ was never intended to last 17+ years. Targeted incentives may be a good idea in theory but, similar to the RZ, they often (if not always) morph, expand and change. Instead of this shell game, we could have a low, sustainable and predicable tax rate that would in and of itself incentivize growth in Fargo without the heavy hand of government.
To the residents of Fargo - this is a broken system that picks winners and losers at the expense of you, the taxpayer. This election cycle, send me two commissioners that will help me end this unfair system and replace it with a system of lower, sustainable and predictable taxes. That is how Fargo will grow stronger, faster and better than ever.
For further information regarding my position on this issue, I invite you to read my recent letter published in the Fargo Forum at: http://www.inforum.com/letters/3996557-letter-dirty-little-secrets-exemptions
