Bismarck Residents Must Keep Pressure On Tax Hike Plans

Last week Thursday there was an outstanding turnout to the the Bismarck-Mandan Chamber of Commerce's townhall forum regarding the proposed sales tax increase. Well over 150 people showed up and had a lively exchange with the Mayor and some city staffers.

From the Bismarck Tribune:

Comments spilled 40 minutes over the 90 minutes allotted for the town hall meeting with a repeated theme challenging the city's incentives used for downtown projects and the city's ignoring previous votes that have gone to residents.

Testimony challenged Mayor Mike Seminary's proposal to add a new sales tax due to a 37-year tax increment finance district in downtown Bismarck, a new TIF district approved for FiveSouth, Bismarck's Renaissance Zone. It also disputed the perception that the city commission renegged on expanding the Bismarck Event Center even though residents rejected it in a citywide vote.

Seminary said the incentives were unrelated to sales taxes. He added that the city commission has voted that 66…