The full picture · 2 sources

Burleigh County to reimburse entities from nearly $900,000 tax calculation error

Updated Oct 21, 10:40 PM CT. Every fact below links to the source that reported it.

What the primary sources show

Burleigh County commissioners voted unanimously to use general fund reserves to reimburse local taxing entities affected by a property tax calculation error. [KFYR-TV]
The error occurred when certain property values, including mobile home values and in-lieu-of-tax payments, were incorrectly included in the 2025 mill levy calculations. [KFYR-TV] [North Dakota's Watchdog Update]
The miscalculation artificially depressed mill levy rates and resulted in less money collected by entities including the City of Bismarck, City of Lincoln, public school systems, and emergency service districts. [KFYR-TV] [North Dakota's Watchdog Update]
The county auditor was bypassed entirely in the mill levy calculation process after the auditor's office was sidelined following an administrative reorganization. [North Dakota's Watchdog Update]
State's Attorney Julie Lawyer advised the county has a responsibility to make up the difference because the error was their mistake. [KFYR-TV]

What are the specific reimbursement amounts for each affected taxing entity?
Will the county auditor be formally reinstated in the mill levy calculation process to prevent future errors?

KFYR-TV: KFYR-TV reported the commissioners' unanimous vote to use general fund reserves for reimbursement and quoted the State's Attorney's legal justification for making the entities whole. Read it → · Ads
North Dakota's Watchdog Update: The Watchdog Update examined the governance breakdown behind the error, questioning whether the unelected finance director had statutory authority to calculate tax levies when state law assigns this power exclusively to the elected county auditor. Read it →

701 News writes these summaries from the sources above and checks every sentence against them. Read the originals for the full reporting. Corrections