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September 28, 2017
Golden Valley News
Page 3
I / : i (; if: i
CPAs recognized for Iongtime memberships
Jim Wosepka, at far right, is recognized earlier this month for being a member of the North
Dakota CPA Society for 40 years at its convention in Grand Forks. He has been in practice in
Beach for 32 years. Also recognized, from left, are Rodney Medalen and Derrel Britsch, both
with 50 years of membership, and Mary Abbott, with 20 years. (Courtesy Photo)
Property tax relief increased in 2017 session
Property taxes are a hot topic
right now, especially in communities
where property tax increases are
being considered.
Without exception, no one likes
taxes, especially property taxes. That
said, property taxes are necessary to
fund local schools, law enforcement,
emergency services and infrastruc-
ture. It is important to remember that
responsibility for determining the
:,ppropriate use and rate of property
ax rests solely with local voters and
~lected officials.
As part of that debate, the ques-
tion has been asked as to what role,
if any, the state should play in the as-
sessment, collection and spending of
local property taxes? That is a great
question. Property taxes are levied
and spent by local governments. The
state has little, if any, control or
oversight of local property taxes,
valuations or spefiding.
Nonetheless, the Legislature
heard the concerns of property own-
ers across North Dakota and, for
over a decade, has been committed
to doing all it can to reduce your
local property tax burden. In fact,
contrary to what you may have read
in the media, the Legislature once
again increased the amount spent on
property tax relief in the 2017 ses-
sion to $1.29 billion.
It all started in 2007. The Legis-
lature passed the very first attempt to
help reduce the burden of property
taxes. This approach provided an in-
,-ome tax credit equal to 10 percent
of your property tax bill. In 2009, we
Other Views
By Sen. Rich
Wardner,
R-Dickinson, and
Rep. A1 Carlson,
R-Fargo
provided property tax mill levy re-
duction grants to local school dis-
tricts. We quickly realized that in the
absence of any real control over
local spending, tax rates or valuation
increases, the state was on an unsus-
tainable course.
So, in 2013, the Legislature
moved to make property tax relief
permanent by incorporating it into
the school foundation aid formula
and requiring schools to reduce their
property taxes by 1'25 mills. In 2017,
we also replaced the 12 percent
property tax buydown with perma-
nent state funding for county social
services, which covered up to 20
mills in county property taxes.
What does this mean for property
taxpayers today?
During the 2015 session, legisla-
tors provided $1.24 billion in prop-
erty tax relief, including $977
million in school tax relief, $241
million to ft]nd a 12 percent property
tax buydown and $23 million to
cover the costs of county child wel-
fare and elderly services.
During the 2017 session, legisla-
tors provided $1.29 billion in prop-
erty tax relief, including $1.13 bil-
lion in school tax relief, $160 million
to cover the costs of county social
services and another $23 million for
county child welfare and elderly
services. In total, we increased state
funded local property tax relief by
$51 million during the 2017 session
compared to the 2015 session.
No gimmicks, no funny numbers,
just the facts that show our real
commitment to property tax relief,
even during difficult times.
But our work did not end there.
We also passed property tax reforms
including the truth in taxation legis-
lation, which requires local govern-
ment to notify taxpayers of all local
taxes to be assessed and requires
property tax statements to clearly
show the taxes levied in dollars, not
mills.
As local communities and voters
evaliaate their current property tax
assessments, remember that any in-
crease at the local level is likely in-
crease in taxation by your local
government and not the effect of
state property tax relief reductions.
Of course, the effect on individual
local taxing entities may vary, but
the combined effect should be rev-
enue neutral on your property tax
bill.
While painful, we encourage
local elected officials to make
spending cuts before increasing
property taxes. We balanced the
state budget without a tax increase
and we think our state is better for
it.
An old camp brings b
Hello,
Last fall I had a chance to revisit
the old Smith Camp on Fort
Berthold. It was one of the first cow
camps in that part of the country. I
think the Keogh's were among the
first to make it kind of a headquar-
ters on the reservation. But I'm sure
there were ranchers before them.
For the better part of a century, it
was a camp where you could put
your horse in a barn, go into a log
cabin and get a cup of hot coffee, or
find shelter from a storm.
It lies just below the Kennedy
Hills, about 15 miles northeast of the
Lost Bridge. It was there long before
the highway or the bridge. Located
.just south of Squaw Creek, it was a
place of good shelter, and more im-
portantly, good water, with a won-
derful spring just below it.
There is not much there anymore.
A few poles where the corral stood.
You can still see the remnants of the
old barn that sheltered many a tired
saddle horse. The once welcoming
cabin has pretty much gone back to
nature. But I could sense the pres-
ence of a few of those tough, gritty
cowboys that shed a winter coat, or
a rain jacket, and grabbed a cup of
strong, hot coffee in that old cabin.
I remember riding there forty-five
years or better ago. Fall roundup.
And the rains came kind of like they
did last week. Rain was running off
your hat and dripping down inside
your slicker. Your chaps were shed-
ding some water, but more than a lit-
tle was finding its way into your
wranglers and boots.
We'd started riding before day-
light. Trucks and trailers were parked
up by the highway near the county
line. We had gathered and sorted the
flat above Yellow Wolf's and went
down to the Smith Camp for lunch.
Hat Tips
By Dean Meyer
It was a Friday and this rain
looked like it would last for a couple
days. We were young and knew
Grandpa Jack would call the roundup
off until Monday. As we sat in that
cabin drinking black coffee and talk-
ing about horses, cows, and girls, we
kept glancing out at the rain. It was
really coming down now. You could
barely see the horses tied down by
the barn. Some were in the shelter;
more were standing there getting the
saddles soaked.
Lighting cracked and thunder
roared. But we felt good. It would be
a wet ride back to the outfits, but then
we could get home, take a hot
shower, and be in Killdeer by night-
fall.
As we finished that last cup of
coffee, Grandpa Jack stood up,
stretched, and said, "You and Red go
down by the rock crossing, gather
those cows and push them down the
creek. Bob, you take a couple guys
Rent this
space for
only a few
dollars a
872-3755 for
more details
memories
and go north. We'll meet down on
the creek and work those cattle.
Shouldn't take more than five or six
hours."
He got on Joey and started off at a
trot down the coulee. My eyes were
wet and it wasn't, all from rain.
Later, Dean
North Dakota rural health faces major issues
North Dakota rural health faces at
least four major challenges, accord-
ing to Brad Gibbens, deputy director
of the UND School of Medicine Cen-
ter for Rural Health.
Brad has spent 32 years research-
ing and leading community discus-
sions on the state's rural health
problems with the goal of facilitating
local responses to those challenges.
Here are his challenges:
1. Keeping rural health systems
viable.
For much of rural North Dakota
the 36 identified critical access hos-
pitals are cornerstones of the local
health system. Not only are these
hospitals crucial to the patients they
serve but they are primary support
for community nursing homes, at-
tracting health care professionals, the
success of Emergency Medical Serv-
ices units, and spreading the gospel
of good health. When hospitals close,
the whole community health system
suffers.
The Affordable Care Act, more
commonly called Obamacare, has
helped hospital bottom lines and the
Medicaid,expansion approved by
Governor Jack Dalrymple gave in-
surance to 20,000 low income folks
who can now go to clinics instead of
waiting until they must go to emer-
gency rooms.
The condition of the critical ac-
cess hospitals has improved from
2014 when only 22 percent operated
in the black and 2016 when 54 per-
cent were out of the red. But more is
left to be done if all critical access
hospitals are to continue.
2. Recruiting an adequate health
workforce
While Dean John Wynne of the
UND School of Medicine has devel-
oped creative ways to expand the
number of doctors for rural areas, the
local communities must attract health
workers, including paramedics, nurse
practitioners, nurses, physician assis-
tants, mental health professionals and
skilled maintenance personnel.
Medical students may now opt for
free tuition in exchange for four
years of service in rural communities.
More students are participating in
rural partnerships with doctors in
rural areas to learn lifestyles in rural
areas.
Emergency Medical Service units,
staffed by all-volunteers, are finding
it more and more difficult to recruit
full crews in rural areas that are now
suffering from the outmigration that
is draining the pool of possible re-
cruits.
The key to recruitment of medical
professionals for rural areas is find-
ing young people who know and
love their rural lifestyle - and then
raising financial support to help them
get the necessary education
3. The behavioral health challenge
The mushrooming addiction to al-
cohol and drugs throughout the state
is particularly challenging in rural
areas.
North Dakota leads the nation in
binge drinking and a plethora of
drugs are readily accessible to will-
ing buyers. Business is so good we
even have witnessed murders among
the drug dealers.
So an addict overdoses and ends
up in the rural hospital emergency
room. After the addict is stabilized,
incarceration has becomes the only
alternative for management of the
problem.
The last session of the Legislature
took major steps to turn the comer on
incarceration of addicts by providing
the alternative of release and super-
vision. Perhaps, this approach needs
to be extended to the local penal sys-
tem.
4. The challenge of depopulation
The viability of rural health care
is threatened by unrelenting depopu-
lation. As the demographics change,
rural areas are ending up with older
and smaller clienteles, meaning
fewer customers for medical serv-
ices.
We are still absorbing the impact
of the Bakken boom on health serv-
ices. The increase in the number of
young men and women in the west-
ern areas of the state may balance out
the aging population.
Solutions to many facets of these
challenges rest in the development
strategies and leadership in rural
communities.
"At community strategy meetings,
I tell folks straight out that not Wash-
ington, or Bismarck, or the Med
School has the answers," Brad as-
serts. "The solutions lie in the com-
munities themselves."
Counties anticipate property tax challenges
To the editor: ties have no control over social serv-
It's that time of year, 'when the ices. These services and their costs
words "ProPerty taxes" are a big are controlled by federal and state
topic of conversation, it's that time mandates. For that reason, counties
when your local governments are do not feel property taxes are the ap-
setting their budgets for 2018 and propriate source of revenue.
are making tough budget decisions. This is a two-year pilot project.
Each county, city, school and park Over the next two years, counties
board is setting its budgets based on will not levy for social services and
needs and public support for sere- instead those services will be funded
ices. with state dollars. Prior to this leg-
There are some important islative action, counties were al-
changes in the upcoming budget lowed under state code to levy up to
cycle that will impact your property 20 mills for social services. Since
taxes based on legislative actions each county levied a different
this past session. Your local deci- amount, the amount of property tax
sion-makers are taking those relief will differ county-by-county
changes into consideration. Coun- and may not equal what citizens re-
ties, like state government, are ex- ceived under the 12 - percent prop-
periencing significant reductions in erty tax buydown plan.
non-property tax revenues that have It's important to recognize the
been impacted by changes in our level of property tax relief provided
state's economy, by the Legislature over the last sev-
The biggest change for taxpayers eral years. Lawmakers' actions to
however is the loss of the 12 percent fund social services is in addition to
state-paid property tax credit. You the commitment they have made to
may recall from your last several reduce the property tax burden by
property tax statements that there funding a greater share of the local
has been a line stating: "Less: 12% cost of education.Together they total
state-paid tax credit." Lawmakers $1.3 billion in property tax relief in
recognized last session that this tax the next biennium. The tax relief
credit was not sustainable for the fu- they have passedon to you will be
ture with the dramatic reduction in noted on the top of your tax state-
state oil tax revenues, so they re- ment.
pealed it in favor of a smaller but Local governments make their
more permanent form of property decisions based on feedback from
tax reform. Going forward, the state the public. And that's very impor-
will fund county social services. We tant. Local governments have trans-
feel this is appropriate because coun- parency. Your voice does matter in
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this process.
Property taxes fund pretty much
every service you depend on at the
local level. It is law enforcement
protection, jails, local highway and
road maintenance, snow removal,
elections, fire protection, ambulance,
public schools, public health, transit
local parksand recreation, county
fairs and .so much more I hope this
information helps you' understand
your property taxes and the changes
that may affect them.
Mprk Johnson
Executive Director
North Dakota Association of
Counties
Van or Bus Service
Billings County
Golden Valley County
Distance of 160 Miles
CALL: 701-872:3836
Our board meets at 9:30 a.m
first Tuesday of each month at
701 S. CentraJ Ave Beach.
The public is invited!
Have something that may be
newsworthy that you'd like to share
or submit to the Golden Valley
News or the Billings County Pio.-
neer?
We won't know about it unless you
tell us, and we welcome submitted
news items!
It's easy. Just give us a call, e-mail
your item and a phone number, or
mail a photo and the text that goes
along with it.
Golden Valley News/Billings County
Pioneer:
P.O. Box 156, Beach, ND 58621
(701) 872-3755;
goldenandbillings@gmail.com
I
MPORTANT NOTICE TO
GOLDEN VALLEY
COUNTY TAXPAYERS
A public hearing to consider
increasing the 2017 Golden Valley
County Property Tax levy by 7.73%
will be held at the Commissioner
Room of the Golden Valley County
Courthouse, 150 1 st Avenue SE,
Beach, North Dakota, on Tuesday
October 3, 2017 at 6:00 p.m,
Citizens will have an opportunity to
present oral or written comments
regarding the property tax levy.
Questions or comments regarding
this notice can be addressed to
Tamra Sperry, Golden Valley County
Auditor, PO Box 67, Beach, North
Dakota, 58621.