In June 2026, Mandan put two separate fire protection funding questions in front of voters within a single day of each other. Both were about paying for a new station. Neither happened where you'd expect, and the difference between the two mechanisms says more about what you'll actually pay to live in Mandan than any mill-levy comparison chart ever will.
On the city's June 9 election ballot, voters were asked whether to continue an existing three-quarter-cent sales tax, already in place, to help fund a $14 million public safety plan that includes a new in-town Station 3 near Red Trail Elementary in northwest Mandan. Mandan Fire Chief Mitch Bitz told city commissioners the answer to the obvious question up front: taxes were not going up, because the money was coming from a sales tax residents had already agreed to keep paying, not a new property tax.
The very next day, a separate government, the Mandan Rural Fire Protection District, asked voters outside the city limits to raise its mill levy from 4 to 13 mills to fund its own new rural station, driven by the same growth pressure. That measure failed. Voters rejected the increase.
Same underlying problem. Same week. Same general area. Two different governments reaching for two different tools, a sales tax already on the books versus a brand new mill levy, and only one of those asks required voters to accept new taxation from scratch. If you're comparing a lot inside Mandan's city limits to one just outside them, this is the kind of thing a median price comparison will never surface, and it's exactly the kind of friction that shows up later, during due diligence, when a buyer asks who actually responds to a fire call at their address and how that service gets paid for.
Why This Matters More Than the Rate You Already Saw
Most Mandan-versus-Bismarck comparisons start and end with a headline number: whose mill levy is lower, whose home price is cheaper. That's the wrong first question, because the city's own levy is a smaller slice of your bill than most buyers assume.
According to the City of Mandan's own budget materials, city services account for only about 23% of a Mandan property owner's total tax bill. City receives 23 cents of every property tax dollar collected. The rest funds Mandan Public Schools, Morton County, and the Mandan Park District, three separate budget conversations that have nothing to do with the city commission meeting you might attend before making an offer.
| Taxing entity | Approximate share of a Mandan tax bill |
|---|---|
| City of Mandan | 23% |
| Mandan Public Schools, Morton County, Park District | 77% |
That split means a city that holds its own levy flat can still hand you a higher total bill if the school district or county moves. It also means the comparison worth making isn't "Mandan's rate versus Bismarck's rate." It's four separate rates on each side of the river, only one of which either city government controls directly.
What the New State Cap Actually Changed
Both cities are operating under the same new rule for the first time this year. House Bill 1176, passed by the 2025 legislature, caps how much a taxing district's total property tax levy can grow year over year at 3%, with an exception for new construction growth. Because local budgets for 2025 were already locked in when the law passed, 2026 is the first year residents are seeing its full effect on their statements.
Mandan used the room carefully. The city's 2026 budget totals $41.3 million, up from $38.3 million the year before, and Finance Director Greg Welch confirmed the property tax levy itself is rising by 2.2%, using just over two-thirds of the 3% the city was legally allowed to take. Mayor Jim Froelich framed it as the payoff of a five-year financial plan the city built specifically to work inside the new cap.
Bismarck's math looks tighter. The city's approved 2026 budget runs $350.7 million overall, but property taxes are only expected to generate $36.7 million against $40.8 million allocated for public safety alone in the general fund, a gap the city is closing with other revenue rather than pushing past the cap. Finance Director Dmitriy Chernyak called the budget process a marathon, and Mayor Mike Schmitz has been public about the tradeoffs, including funding a new $80 million police station through a half-cent sales tax voters already approved rather than through the constrained property tax line.
The takeaway for a buyer isn't which city is more responsible. It's that both cities are now solving the same funding puzzle with different tools, and the tool each one reaches for, sales tax versus property tax versus reserves, shapes what your bill looks like depending on which side you're on.
The Sales Tax Line Nobody Puts on the Comparison Sheet
Property tax gets all the attention in these conversations, but the sales tax gap between the two cities is real and it's funding some of the same services. Mandan's current combined sales tax rate is 8.25%, made up of 5% state, 2.25% city, and 1% Morton County. Bismarck's combined rate is 8%. That quarter-point difference is small on any single purchase, but it's the exact mechanism Mandan is using to fund Station 3 without touching the property tax cap, which is worth knowing if you're weighing total cost of living rather than just the number on a closing statement.
The Older Version of This Story, One County Over
This isn't the first time a governing body has had to rethink who pays for what once the cap changed the math. In October 2025, the Burleigh County Commission voted 3-2 to end a joint powers agreement dating to 1998 that directed 0.65 mills in county property taxes to Bismarck Parks and Recreation for riverfront improvements, funding that has supported facilities like Sibley Park and the Kniefel Boat Landing. Commission Chair Brian Bitner argued it made more sense for the park district to levy the money directly rather than route it through the county, calling the arrangement "almost like a hidden tax" now that the new caps are in play. Commissioner Wayne Munson dissented, arguing the money was well spent and that people move to and stay in a community because of amenities like riverfront parks.
The agreement ends at the close of 2026, which means Bismarck Parks and Recreation will likely need its own levy line to keep funding the same facilities going forward. It's a small, specific example of something bigger: the new cap isn't just changing how much any single government can collect. It's forcing governments that used to quietly fund each other to separate those arrangements into visible line items, which is exactly the kind of thing that shows up as a surprise on a tax statement a year or two after closing.
What This Means If You're Choosing Between the Two
None of this means one city is a better buy than the other. It means the comparison worth making before you write an offer isn't "which city's rate is lower." It's a short list of questions:
- Is the address inside Mandan's city limits, or inside the Mandan Rural Fire Protection District, and what did that district's most recent levy vote decide?
- What percentage of the total bill is the city's own levy versus school, county, and park district levies, and has any of those other entities changed its funding structure recently?
- Is a nearby public safety or infrastructure project being funded through a capped property tax levy, a voter-approved sales tax, or reserves, since that determines how durable the funding actually is?
Those are the questions that surface real answers about carrying cost, and they're the kind of thing that's easy to miss when you're comparing two listings side by side on price per square foot.
Get the Full Picture Before You Compare
Property tax structure is one piece of a much bigger decision, and it changes year to year as North Dakota's new cap works through each city's budget. If you're weighing a move between Mandan and Bismarck, or anywhere in the metro, Patrick Koski can walk through what a specific address's tax history actually looks like, not just the headline rate. Get a free home valuation & consultation and get the comparison that actually matters before you make an offer.
