Grand Forks County Commissioners Vote On Health Insurance Plan, Pass First Draft Of Budget, Sherriff Introduces Possible Sales Tax

(KNOX) –Grand Forks County commissioners voted on Monday to keep their health insurance spending the same for the 2027 budget. The county spent $5.1 million on health insurance in 2026 and is now planning to spend nearly the same in 2027.

The commission has been given other health insurance options that they could choose to replace their current plan, which is Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota. They have been told about possibly switching over to the North Dakota Public Employees Retirement Program. This has been recommended so they can avoid having to pay more for their plan that is expected to have a 20 percent increase in costs.

The commission can decide on spending less in future meetings but they are not allowed to increase their spending since they have voted to pay the same amount for next year.

Meanwhile, the County Commission approved a draft of the 2027 budget Tuesday. The draft includes a 30 percent cut to some contracted services and special levies, and there is also a reduction to the county fair board. There would also be a $5,000 cut in retention funding to the Grand Forks Air Force Base, and funding for Grand Forks International Airport would go down to $100,000. Plus, a three percent cost of living adjustment for all employees and no step increases were also included.

This first draft has the county budget at roughly $36.6 million, which is under the maximum amount they can budget in levies with the state required three percent cap on property tax increases. More proposed cuts can be made before the budget is given final approval this fall.

County Sheriff Andy Schneider also mentioned a proposal that would introduce a county sales tax. He believes that would help fund the sheriff’s office, and it could open up more funds. The city of Grand Forks has a one percent sales tax that brought in $13.6 million in 2025. If a county sales tax brings in a similar amount of revenue, a 0.75 percent sales tax would lead to roughly $10 million and a 0.5 percent sales tax would bring in about $6.8 million. Schneider says the sheriff’s office budgets $6.5 million.