Minot, North Dakota

:For other things named Minot see Minot (disambiguation).

Politics

The mayor of Minot is Curt Zimbelman, a banker. As mayor he chairs the 14-member City Council, but only casts a vote to break a tie. The day-to-day affairs of the city are handled by the City Manager, currently David Waind.

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While the city's leadership has been trending towards the conservative, Minot's liberal factions have been active in recent years and have had somewhat more success than in other areas of the state.

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Government

Minot uses the Council-manager system of government. Fourteen councilmen are elected from 7 city wards to four-year terms. Elections are arranged such that one councilman from each ward is elected in every even-numbered year. The mayor of Minot is elected to a four-year term as well; the last mayoral election was in 2002. All city offices are nonpartisan.

Related Topics:
Council-manager - 2002

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City elections are held in June in North Dakota, along with the state primary election.

Related Topics:
North Dakota - Primary election

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Policy

Minot's civic realm includes a number of debates over taxes, fiscal management, and economic development policy.

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Major issues include:

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Economic development

In 1992, Minot created a special tax fund called the MAGIC Fund to provide public subsidies to businesses to start operations in Minot. This fund was supported by 40% of a 1% sales tax levied by the city. The initial creation of the fund established it through 2006.

Related Topics:
1992 - 2006

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The MAGIC Fund started to draw criticism for many reasons. Many became dissatisfied with the type of employers coming into the city using MAGIC Fund money, primarily telephone call centers, and their low wages. This was inflamed by high-profile closures of call centers run by Z-Tel and later, WebSmart Interactive.

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Another source of criticism dealt with the fiscal management of the MAGIC Fund. By 2001 the MAGIC Fund had exhausted all the funds expected to be collected by the fund's expiration in 2006; this drew allegations that the city diverted tax revenues from other funds to make up the difference.

Related Topics:
2001 - 2006

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Early in 2002, a special city election was called, a Yes/No vote on a question of whether or not the city should divert a portion of the NAWS tax revenues to the MAGIC Fund, and if the MAGIC Fund iself should be extended through 2013. The proposition was defeated.

Related Topics:
2002 - 2013

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The following mayoral election was hotly contested. The major issue of the campaign was economic development. Curt Zimbelman, a banker, supported the MAGIC Fund program as-is, while Steve Huenneke, an economics professor at MSU, advocated reforms, such as wage standards and penalties for companies that did not meet job creation goals under the program. On election day, Zimbelman narrowly won by 143 votes out of over 8,000.

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After the election a 3-man committee was appointed by the new mayor to study problems with the MAGIC Fund and to create a new set of guidelines. The new guidelines were officially approved by the city council, but many saw it as a face-saving manoeuvre rather than actual reform.

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In late 2003 and early 2004, there was talk of a new plan for economic development being put forward by the city leadership and MSU business professor Rod Hewlitt, but details were not forthcoming.

Related Topics:
2003 - 2004

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City voters approved an extension of the 1% city sales tax in June 2004, but as of yet there has been no public declaration of any new economic development policy by city officials. Many are concerned that the MAGIC fund will return to business as usual, while others feel they have been vindicated.

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Northwest Area Water Supply (NAWS)

The Northwest Area Water Supply is slightly less controversial among residents of Minot and area, however, it has attracted the ire of the Canadian government because the plan calls for water to be pumped from Lake Sakakawea, then to Minot for treatment, and then on to large stretches of Northwest North Dakota.

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The Canadian Government's issue with this program is that it moves water from the Missouri River basin, which flows south into the US, to the Souris River basin, which flows north into Canada, possibly introducing foreign microbes into the water supply.

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The other main issue with the NAWS project is funding; Federal, State, and local dollars have been pledged to the project, but in summer 2003, Federal funds for the project were almost cut, jeopardizing construction.

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Minot voters decided in 1998 to levy a 1% sales tax to go towards the construction of NAWS; it is alleged by some that this tax fund was partially diverted towards economic development purposes. A lawsuit was filed against the city and it was ordered to return the misappropriated funds to the NAWS fund. By that time, the money had already been spent, and the city instead voted to issue a special assessment on city water bills to raise the funds.

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Some worry that NAWS may be a moot point as water levels in Lake Sakakawea continue to fall, that not enough water will be available for use as a result of the project.

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