24-07-2025
Devils Lake enters budget cycle without sales tax increase, will have tough decisions to make
Jul. 23—DEVILS LAKE, N.D. — Heading into the 2026 budget cycle will bring some tough decisions to the Devils Lake City Commission following the failure of a proposed sales tax increase, said City Administrator Spencer Halvorson.
Without the added revenue the increase would have raised if passed, the commission will have to consider what trade-offs to make.
"I think, if anything, we have clarity," Halvorson said. "That's kind of why we pursued it when we did."
A proposal to raise Devils Lake's sales tax by 0.5%
failed Tuesday, July 22
. City data said 401 residents voted "no" to the increase and 165 voted "yes," failing the vote with 71% against and 29% in favor.
Mayor Jim Moe said there are already budget meetings planned by the City Commission, including one on Thursday, July 24, and another on the following Monday. The group will have to discuss the city's needs, what it wants to accomplish and what kind of plan it can create to make things work within the budget the city has, he said.
"Things have got to come together," he said.
Moe said turnout for elections with nothing else to go on the ballot, like a primary or general election, tend to be smaller. The smaller turnouts then tend to go on the failing side, he said, which is typical to what he has witnessed unless the election has a large significance.
"I totally support the decision," he said. "It is what it is."
Halvorson said timing could be a factor in why the vote failed. In recent years, Devils Lake approved a quarter-cent sales tax for the purpose of supporting its park district, a school district bond referendum and an ambulance service tax, he said.
"There are going to be some hard decisions and hard conversations coming down the next couple years, so we were trying to get ahead of that," he said. "But, after all those recent community investments the residents of Devils Lake have made, I think it's bad timing."
The goal of the proposed tax increase
was to fund the city's public safety operations, which have increased over the years. It also would have helped fund public buildings and infrastructure, as well as partially or completely offset a $9 monthly water source replacement fee.
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