FARGO – Will Fargo voters give the green light to both a sales tax increase and a lodging tax increase in their November election?

A member of the Fargodome Authority is confident that voters will recognize the need for a quarter-percent sales tax to fund renovations to the aging building and that they will reach the 60 percent approval threshold needed to pass their sales tax this time around.

“We’re going to bust our asses to get the message out about what we want to do at the Fargodome,” David Suppes, chairman of the Fargodome Authority, told The Forum.

However, Mayor Tim Mahoney expressed concern at the last City Commission meeting that voters would not accept two sales taxes, not to mention the lodging tax increase that will also be on the ballot. Mahoney could not be reached for comment.

Members of the Fargodome Authority are making their second attempt to get voters to approve a sales tax to fund improvements to the Fargodome, an entertainment venue at 1800 N. University Dr.

They are calling for a sales tax of a quarter of a cent to be levied over a period of 20 years.

A similar idea was rejected by voters in Fargo last December.

David Samson / The Forum

At that time, only 52% of voters approved the proposed $140 million expansion and renovation project, as well as the construction of an attached convention center, which would be financed by a three percentage point increase in the city’s lodging tax.

A majority of 60% was required to move the measure forward.

This time, however, Fargodome officials are proposing that the sales tax be used exclusively for Fargodome improvements. The convention center is not part of this new plan and is instead seeking a lodging tax increase on the November ballot.

The results of the Fargodome public poll, released in early June, show that 56% of the 300 people surveyed support the new plan.

After respondents were given information material about the need for renovation, this number rose to the necessary 60 percent, said Suppes.

The Fargodome Authority plans a public information campaign to keep Fargo voters informed about the needs of the Fargodome, he said.

Although the possibility of a second sales tax was not taken into account in the survey, Suppes does not believe that the 60% of respondents will weaken in the face of the introduction of two sales taxes.

“Our positions have been pretty consistent,” Suppes said. “We are fully focused on moving the (renovation) issue forward, getting the information out there and educating the public.”

Earlier this month, Commissioners narrowly approved a second VAT measure for the November vote.

Fargo residents will vote on a 20-year quarter-cent sales tax to fund operations, equipment and new buildings for the Fargo Fire and Police Departments.

Fargo firefighters have been complaining since November about pay levels that they say are insufficient to retain employees.

Mahoney was among the dissenting voices at the meeting, expressing concern that the plan was poorly thought out and would have a negative impact on taxpayers.

“I think people get fed up with taxes sometimes,” Mahoney said on August 19. “A sales tax would be nice, but it puts an additional burden on a population that is already taxed to the limit.”

The sales tax for the Fargodome was carefully thought out and took about a decade to develop, he said, while the Fargo Fire Department’s proposal has only been in the works for a few months and has not been discussed with the IRS or city government.

He expressed concern that Fargo residents would not be willing to approve both sales taxes, especially in addition to the 3% lodging tax increase proposed for the November ballot to fund the aforementioned convention center.

If both sales taxes were passed, the total sales tax in Fargo would be 8%, compared to 7.875% in Moorhead and 8% in West Fargo.

Night shift reporter 👻. I cover Fargo city government, Cass County government, and underserved populations in the region.