County Sales Tax Backers - KXNet - Bismarck/Minot/Williston/Dickinson

County Sales Tax Backers

The push continues for support for a half cent sales tax county-wide to pay for upgrades at the Ward County Jail as well as a new office building and improvements at the courthouse.

Today, supporters visited another service club making the pitch for the project that carries with it a price tag of just under 40 million dollars.

The tax is designed to run for 10 years...or until the debt is paid off.

It is also capped -- meaning the most you could pay in this tax per purchase is 12 dollars and 50 cents.

Jerry Chavez is a member of the citizen's committee supporting the plan.

He says he's hopeful the plan to add county space is supported -- even though the roll-out of the plan has been fast and not too far from election day.

(Jerry Chavez - Citizen's Building Committee) "It is funny...since 1920 there hasn't been any additions to the county courthouse. You stop and think about this population in Ward County has doubled and we haven't added more space to our existing building."

The county does plan on asking the state legislature for funding for some of the project, and if granted, the plan is to pay down the debt with that money and perhaps end the tax sooner.