Taxes, ongoing projects on minds of Grand Forks County Commission candidates

Oct. 5—GRAND FORKS — Of the four candidates seeking two seats on the Grand Forks County Commission, three say they are motivated to run to keep taxes down and the fourth seeks another term to see through a host of major projects underway in the county.

In the running for two at-large seats are Ronald Barta, Terry Bjerke, David Engen and Cynthia Pic. Engen and Pic are incumbents, while Bjerke is a former member of the Grand Forks City Council. The election is Nov. 5.

In a Grand Forks Herald survey completed by all four candidates, Engen veered from budgetary or tax concerns when asked about his motivation for declaring his candidacy. Instead, he noted his interest in working to finish a host of projects, including the expansion of the county jail and repairs to the leaky and aging dome atop the Grand Forks County Courthouse. Another issue before the commission is a $3 million project for repairs to a county-owned parking ramp in downtown Grand Forks.

"My chief motivation for running for one final term on the County Commission is to follow through on finishing major projects such as the (Grand Forks County) Correctional Center expansion, the parking ramp, the courthouse dome, a suitable office for the sheriff and GrandSky," said Engen, who has been on the commission a little more than nine years. "All of these projects have required years to come to fruition, and we still have decisions to make to complete them."

And while Engen outlined his interest in seeing those projects through, the two challengers referenced county projects and spending — either directly or subtly — in their answers to the Herald.

Barta, for instance, said he was motivated to run because he sees a need for a board member that has experience managing communities, developing budgets and cutting spending.

"I have watched my county spend money on facilities that were allowed to deteriorate to the point of needing emergency funding to repair. The dome on the county courthouse and the parking garage should not have been allowed to get to that point. I do not see the incumbents managing requirements for the programs they oversee and this has led to the increase of taxes that are negatively affecting all our citizens, especially our fixed-income citizens."

Further, he said, the lack of fiscal oversight by the controlling sitting members showed the inability to provide direction, purpose and motivation to the employees of the county."

Bjerke said the commission has, for years, "mismanaged the taxpayers' money and has failed to properly plan for and maintain the county's infrastructure, specifically its buildings."

Bjerke, who was on the City Council from 2000 to 2002 and from 2008 to 2016, said that if he's elected, working on a "comprehensive capital improvement program" will be among his top concerns.

"The commission has failed to properly budget and has misplaced their priorities," he said.

Pic, a 12-year member of the commission, said her goal is to continue to keep taxes down for the county's residents, all while providing quality services for county residents.

"As a county commissioner, it is our obligation to be successful at finding additional ways to bring enhanced revenue into Grand Forks County. As a supporter of economic development, increased business growth within the county will bring in more residents to broaden the tax base," Pic said.

In her response to the Herald, she noted the 2022 vote within the county that established home rule. At the same time, she noted, a proposal to use that new form of oversight and bring about a half-cent sales tax failed. The tax would have helped the county pay for various infrastructure upgrades.

The home rule question was approved by a slim margin — only 18 votes. The question on the tax, however, failed by 29 votes.

"As commissioners we need to continue to investigate improvements to finance the services offered by Grand Forks County," Pic said.

Following are the candidates' responses to the Herald's questionnaire:

Occupation: Program manager/logistics management officer.

Commission or other elected office experience (years in office, if applicable): (left blank)

Q. What is your chief motivation for running for a spot on the County Commission? And if elected, what do you hope to do to follow through on that motivation?

I was motivated to run for a position on the County Commission because I saw a need for an individual that has experience managing communities, developing budgets, and cutting spending to meet the needs of the population without excessive spending. I have done this in many locations for the US government and can do it here also. I have watched my county spend money on facilities that were allowed to deteriorate to the point of needing emergency funding to repair.

The dome on the county courthouse and the parking garage should not have been allowed to get to that point. I do not see the incumbents managing requirements for the programs they oversee and this has led to the increase of taxes that are negatively affecting all our citizens, especially our fixed income citizens. I am tired of the incumbents using the pockets of the citizens as a piggy bank. The lack of fiscal oversight by the controlling sitting members showed the inability to provide direction, purpose, and motivation to the employees of the county. The false information provided by some of the sitting commissioners to drive the vote for the new jail and the home rule vote was a poor example of someone who is supposed to be working for the county citizens.

Q. Is there anything you feel the commission has done wrong over the past term?

The "new jail" debacle is a glaring example of not understanding the mission and not controlling spending.

The commission has not managed the programs, personnel or the budget for the county effectively. The directors have never been tasked with process improvement or cutting costs and have only sought more funding and personnel. The budgets have a large amount of opportunities to cut costs.

Q. The County Commission has been supportive of a number of local development projects (downtown buildings, GrandSky, Epitome Energy, to name a few). Has it been wise for the commission to offer its support for projects like this? Should things be done differently going forward?

While some incentives to bring businesses to Grand Forks may be needed, the amount of incentives creates a business environment that is not conducive to the businesses that are already located in Grand Forks. The incentives must be controlled and be the minimum amount so you do not put our local, family owned, businesses in jeopardy. Moving forward there MUST be stipulations placed on the incentives that are offered. Specifically, if a business plan shows the business will bring 100 people to the county and they only bring 25 the incentives should be cut by 75%. A quantifiable return on investment must be clearly identified to the taxpayer.

Q. Do you feel the county's spending and budgeting has been done in a prudent and wise manner? What could be different?

Spending has not been done prudently. The lack of program oversight has caused multiple "emergencies" that have required millions of dollars to correct. This could have been avoided if the incumbents would just review and provide oversight of the programs they are in charge of. Additionally, if they just ask this one question "How does it benefit the public?" it would drive our spending towards a more efficient operation.

Regarding budgeting, I don't think the incumbents understand the process. We should have been budgeting for the sheriff's relocation, we should have identified the lack of funding for the jail, we should have been funding for the repair to the dome. Instead, we are told stories that provided them to tax us more. These items are not acute, they have been chronic and should have been planned for. It is a telltale sign when an incumbent writes in the newspaper that he balanced the budget with no tax increases but the budget increased and the tax statements clearly show that there is an increase to the county wide taxes. This is why the incumbents need to be replaced — there hasn't been a tax increase that they have not supported. This is all being done on the backs of our citizens and severely impacting our fixed-income constituents.

Occupation: Semi-retired/route driver.

Commission or other elected office experience (years in office, if applicable): Grand Forks City Council: June 2000-June 2002, June 2008-June 2016

Q. What is your chief motivation for running for a spot on the County Commission? And if elected, what do you hope to do to follow through on that motivation?

I would like to stop the yearly tax increases and see the county run more efficiently. We would go through the budget, eliminate wasteful spending, and find ways to do things more successfully.

Q. Is there anything you feel the commission has done wrong over the past term?

For years the commission has mismanaged the taxpayer's money and has failed to properly plan for and maintain the county's infrastructure, specifically its buildings.

For years the commission has supported giving property tax breaks to an extremely small group of businesses while at the same time raising the property taxes of everyone else. If their policy was working, why do they have to keep raising peoples' taxes? The plan has been a complete failure and it's time for all taxpayers to benefit, not just the chosen few.

Q. Do you feel the county's spending and budgeting has been done in a prudent and wise manner? What could be different?

It's clear that the county doesn't have a comprehensive capital improvement program, and if elected, this will be one of my prime concerns. The commission has failed to properly budget and has misplaced their priorities.

Occupation: Attorney

Commission or other elected office experience (years in office, if applicable): I have been on the commission slightly over nine years (I was appointed for the first year and a half and then ran for re-election twice before this time).

Q. What is your chief motivation for running for a spot on the County Commission? And if elected, what do you hope to do to follow through on that motivation?

My chief motivation for running for one final term on the County Commission is to follow through on finishing major projects such as the Correctional Center expansion, the parking ramp, the courthouse dome, a suitable office for the sheriff and GrandSky. All of these projects have required years to come to fruition, and we still have decisions to make to complete them.

Q. Is there anything the commission has done during your past term that you wish you could do over? And what is the biggest success?

I do not have any regrets about how the commission has handled issues over the past nine years, including the projects above. Despite changes in personnel on the commission, we all listen to each other and work together for the good of the people of Grand Forks County. I believe our biggest success as a group has been the thoughtful way that we have spent many hours in public budget meetings. We examine requests and needs department by department and even line by line to prepare the budget every year. We do not treat budget issues lightly — after all, we all pay our taxes too. We do our best to keep taxes in line with the necessities involved in running the county government. Our most visible county success has got to be GrandSky. That is a county project that was in the works long before I came onto the commission, but since 2015 it has turned into a success that has exceeded everyone's expectations.

I am a strong believer in the concept that the city and county of Grand Forks benefit from economic growth. Tax incentives that bring businesses into the area benefit the companies in the short run but the city and county more in the long run. As mentioned above, GrandSky is a shining example of success, where 217 acres of under-utilized land owned by the United States government was transformed into the Nation's premier Unmanned Aircraft Systems park.

The development was begun in part with tax incentives to tenants who were willing to move operations here from California. Those tenants and others contributed over $2 million in tax revenue to the county in 2023, and growth is continuing! In fact, GrandSky's economic impact on the county is over $40 million annually!

Similar success has been achieved in many city projects over the years, and along with tax revenues those also provide hundreds of jobs, both in initial construction and long-term running of the companies.

Q. Please tell our readers how you feel the commission has budgeted and spent taxpayer dollars prudently and thoughtfully.

The phrase "prudently and thoughtfully" exemplifies the approach that all commissioners have used the whole time I have served on the commission. Department heads prepare proposed budgets each year, setting forth all the required "must haves" together with additional items that would be helpful but not necessarily essential, but may be long-term planning needs. These are compiled by our finance and tax personnel, and in early summer we begin public budget meetings to go over every request to prioritize needs and make the often-difficult decisions to turn down requests that we just can't afford. We apply the same scrutiny to the agencies that provide services to our county residents, such as senior citizens, the Mission, social services and many more.

Our greatest asset is our employees, and I am proud to say that in the last few years we have concentrated on bringing them up to a situation where we can retain valuable employees and not lose them to private companies. During the time I have been on the commission we have only raised the general fund mill level once. That does not mean that our individual tax bills don't go up somewhat because of increased valuations, but it is the only thing we on the commission can actually control. Remember, the county only collects taxes for other agencies like the Park Boards and School Boards, and they are often a large part of our tax statements. We understand that inflation affects all of us, and we will continue to do our best to manage the rising costs that affect our county departments and projects while keeping Grand Forks County an affordable place to live and work.

Occupation: Director of transportation, Tri-Valley Opportunity Council, Inc; Co-owner of West-Pic Travel, a travel agency (DBE); and co-owner of the Pic family farm.

Commission or other elected office experience (years in office, if applicable): Grand Forks County Commission, 12 years.

Q. What is your chief motivation for running for a spot on the County Commission? And if elected, what do you hope to do to follow through on that motivation?

It has been an honor to serve the citizens of Grand Forks County. Serving on the Grand Forks County Commission has given me the opportunity to help sustain and improve the lives of the citizens in our county. My chief motivation is to continue to keep taxes down for the county residents and continue to provide the quality services available at Grand Forks County. It is imperative to find ways to finance the multiple services offered to residents within the County. As a county commissioner, it is our obligation to be successful at finding additional ways to bring enhanced revenue into Grand Forks County. As a supporter of economic development, increased business growth within the county will bring in more residents to broaden the tax base. In 2022 the county presented two measures on the ballot. One was to garner support for Grand Forks County to adopt a Home Rule Charter. The second measure was to increase the sales tax by .25% to help in making improvements on infrastructure, roads and to bring the property tax burden down for County residents. The first measure was approved and the second measure was vetoed by county residents. As commissioners we need to continue to investigate improvements to finance the services offered by Grand Forks County.

Q. Is there anything the commission has done during your past term that you wish you could do over? And what is the biggest success?

Yes, do a better job of communicating information on the Home Rule Charter. The charter did pass; although residents continued to question the true meaning of the charter. More information needed to be disseminated regarding the .25% increase on the sales tax. This measure was voted down.

Yes, absolutely. It is important for businesses to see support in a collaborative manner coming from public and private entities within the Grand Forks community and throughout the county. New and expanding businesses can apply for tax reductions during the first few years of development and/or growth. This is very important to attract businesses into Grand Forks County. As new businesses start-up and other businesses expand, it attracts employees to move to the Grand Forks community and broaden the tax base. This is a win-win for the businesses and the community as a whole. In my opinion, we have done what is best for the county residents in a collaborative approach to economic development.

Q. Please tell our readers how you feel the commission has budgeted and spent taxpayer dollars prudently and thoughtfully.

Every year, the commission holds budget meetings with program managers. The program managers prepare the budget and submit the funding request during the budget process. The commission then meets several times to interview and discuss the budget request with the program managers. These meetings are well planned and finance impacts are discussed with the Tax and Finance Department. At times, some requests are not supported by the Commission. The commission also prioritizes the requests coming from the program managers to determine if the funds are available and will have an impact on county residents.

There are many important services provided by Grand Forks County that assist us with our safety, health and well being. It is important these services are provided in a cost effective manner. As a lifelong resident of Grand Forks County, I am interested in serving another term to use the education and skills I have attained to continue making a difference on the Grand Forks County Commission.

Taxes, ongoing projects on minds of Grand Forks County Commission candidates

Related News