Clay County Commission

Dan Haglund

The Clay County Board of Commissioners approved a two-year extension of support for the “Make Moorhead Home Property Tax Rebate” program and set a date for a public hearing on the matter in its regular meeting on Tuesday in Moorhead.
The “Make Moorhead Home Property Tax Rebate” was begun in 2012 after several flood events, and is based upon the assessed property value on Jan. 2 of each of the two years following the date a new home is completed.
Major floods in 1997, 2009-11 prompted the city and county to come up with solutions to foster building and population growth after a few flood-affected homes were removed.
The program was begun in 2009, and was initiated as a state-funded helping hand for this area to recover from floods.
Lisa Bode, Governmental Affairs director for the City of Moorhead, said after the state discontinued the program, the local jurisdictions decided to make it a self-funded program converting from a credit to a rebate.
“We sunset the program every two years so that the local policymakers can review the program,” Bode said.
The Moorhead City Council approved a resolution supporting the program for a seventh two-year extension (through 2026) last month. The Moorhead School District followed suit with its official support right afterward.
“The program has proven to be a part of the growth that the county and city are experiencing,” Bode added.
For a home with an estimated market value of $300,000 upon completion, and is classified as a single-family homestead, the estimated annual rebate would be $3,671.13 after an annual tax payment of $4,278.71, resulting in a net tax after rebate of $607.58.
For homes not classified as single-family homesteads with the same market value, the estimated annual rebate would be $3,800.87 after the assessed tax payment of $4,412.25, resulting in a net tax of $611.38.
The homes built during MMH, as the program is called for short, have added taxable value of more than $400 million to the city’s base, generating tax revenues of more than $6 million per year.
Commissioner Kevin Campbell, Dist. 4, said, “This has been a terrific program. Not only for Moorhead but for some of our other communities as well … I think every community right now is probably seeing lower permits as it is (with regard to the economy), so we need to keep every tool that we have in the toolbox to help homebuilders.”
Commissioners Jenny Mongeau, Dist. 3, and Paul Krabbenhoft, Dist. 1, also voiced wholehearted support for the program.
“I think it’s a terrific program,” said Krabbenhoft. “As a long-term Realtor, I’ve had many of my clients use this program with new construction. We continue in Clay County to fight against some of the reasons other people are wanting to choose North Dakota (in which to live). And this is one (reason) that has proved to make a difference.”
Krabbenhoft said this rebate incentive has proven for many to be a favorable alternative to what is available on the other side of the Red River.