FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 28, 2022
For more information, contact:
| Lindsey Harriman Williams County Communications Department Phone: 701-577-4557 (office) lindseyh@co.williams.nd.us |
Mitch Melberg City of Williston Communications Director Phone: 701-713-3800 mmelberg@ci.williston.nd.us |
Williams County to put renewal of 1% Public Safety Sales Tax on the November 2022 ballot
Williston, N.D., (September 28, 2022) – Williams County will have a measure on the November 8, 2022 General Election ballot asking the public whether or not they support a renewal of the County’s 1% Public Safety Sales Tax (1% PSST). The tax was voted in by the public in November 2014 and will expire on March 31, 2025. A renewal of the tax would extend it to March 31, 2035.
Since April 2015, the 1% PSST has been a supplemental revenue source for the 18 public safety agencies that serve Williams County for use towards operational and capital costs. Funds have also been used to expand behavioral health services in an effort to reduce the impact on first responders and increase access to services in the County. Revenue from the tax is split 50/50 between Williams County and the City of Williston. The tax has funded major building projects, provided for updated and new life-saving equipment and apparatuses, and closed the weather radar gap for northwestern North Dakota.
“The tax has helped to ensure that our rural first responders are well equipped. An extension of the tax would help our first responders do more in the future and also help strengthen behavioral health in the County” says Williams County Commission Chairman, Cory Hanson.
“We have to keep our city emergency services up and running so that when there’s a critical need for those services, we’re there and able to provide them” City of Williston Mayor Howard Klug adds.
Absentee ballots will be available beginning September 29, 2022 and polls will be open from 8 am to 7 pm CT on November 8, 2022. More information about the November General Election can be found at www.williamsnd.com/elections.
For more information about the current and future uses of the 1% Public Safety Sales Tax, please visit www.williamsnd.com.
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