Last month, we learned that the North Dakota Commerce Department was able to use its own internal loopholes to ignore its own internal guidelines.
Now comes news that yesterday the Burleigh County Commission voted to request a formal opinion from the Attorney General:
Burleigh County Commissioners want to know why the Bismarck Renaissance Zone was extended after they voted against it.
Commissioners voted Monday to request the state attorney general's opinion on whether a 15-month extension granted by the state was allowed, because Commerce Department guidelines specify the commission and the school board both must submit letters of support for it to continue. They also extended an invitation to Commerce Department officials to explain why the incentive was renewed short-term.
[...]
The state Commerce Department, in turn, denied the five-year extension but renewed the Renaissance Zone short-term to allow the 2017 Legislature time to study the extension requirements.
County Commissioner Jim Peluso objected to the state's extension through August 2017 after all five county commissioners had voted against it.
"It seems to me our vote was disenfranchised. We didn't have a say in it," he said. "It seems to me we need an explanation of why this was even asked of us. ... It obviously wasn't a binding vote."
This is important for Bismarck and Burleigh County residents - it means that local taxpayers have a voice of an entire level of government willing to fight for the public's best interests.
Between this and the Bismarck Boondoggle, the City of Bismarck has sure made itself a target - as have state bureaucrats who think they are above the will of the people and the will of the people's elected representatives.
It's important for local taxpayers to know who is standing up for them - in this case, Burleigh County residents and Bismarck residents certainly have a county commission willing to fight these fights now.
