Archive

  • FAQ for the township grant program click here

  • NDTOA 2022 - 56th Annual Meeting and Convention - Baymont Inn, Mandan, N. D. - December 12th & 13th 2022


  • 2021 NEW ROAD NEEDS SURVEY: Click Here  The information gathered from previous surveys has been valuable in our efforts for more township road funding. Please take the time to complete this new survey so we can continue to show the legislature the needs.

  • NDTOA 2021- 55th Annual Convention & Meeting: Click here to join the convention online

  • NDTOA 2021- 55th Annual Meeting Registration Form - Click here

  • 2021 - Covid and Annual Meetings - Click Here
    NDTOA advice on Township Annual Meetings and Covid

    Do your best to hold the township annual meeting on the third Tuesday in March as NDCC currently has no allowance for holding at another time. Postponing or rescheduling often results in a poorer turnout than if held on the initially designated day. In order to lessen the worries of the Covid issue, hold the meeting in the largest meeting room you can find in order to allow distance between attendees, such as a community center or other large meeting room in the township or an adjacent township, or in a large farm shop, or even outdoors (isn’t the weather usually nice in March in ND?). Wherever it is held it should be announced that state guidelines for Covid at the time will be adhered to. If you are unable to hold the annual meeting on the prescribed day, a special meeting will need to be called (see NDCC 58-04-02 and 58-04-19). There is talk of allowing participation via electronic means but that is not legally allowed, yet. It may be possible for someone to listen in via speakerphone and provide comments to the meeting, but would not be able to vote on an issue that requires a secret ballot, such as the election of officers. Remote electronic attendance may not be so easy to set up in many locations.


  • 2020 - “NDTOA 54th Annual Meeting ONLINE only” - Click Here

  • 2020 - “Meetings by Conference Call” - Click Here

  • 2020 - Covid-19 Concerns, Township Meetings - Click Here

  • 2020 - Open Meeting requirements during Coronavirus (COVID-19) National Emergency - Click Here

  • 2020 - “Equalization Meeting Dates” click here

  • 2020 - Road Needs Survey - UGPTI click here

  • Equalization meetings April 8th, 2019

  • 2019 Annual Meeting of the Township-March 19th – NO EXCEPTIONS!

  • Click here to Nominate an outstanding Officer For Grassroots Leadership Award

  • “Payroll Record Requests” - Most all Townships in North Dakota have received a request for payroll information.  This request is from Open the Books which is a "cost of government" website.  While nobody needs the extra work of digging up and producing this information, this is a legitimate request and it cannot be ignored by any Township.  The request asks that any fees be waived but you do not have to do this without charge!  The template link below shows that you can charge $25 an hour after the first hour spent gathering the information. The template kind of gives you a check sheet to help you get through complying with this information request.  For one thing, you can fill in the time it will take to find all the information and compute the cost that will be involved. The request says they have to approve any cost in writing before any cost is incurred. So fill out the template with the cost and send that to the email address provided. They will have to pay for the search before you have to do it. If it will take 5 hours to dig it up because your township doesn’t have computerized records you can charge for 4 hours at $25, they may not want to pay $100 to find out what you pay your officers.  Be careful that no personal data such as Social Security Numbers are released.  Here are a couple of items from the Attorney General to help you comply with the law.  Attorney General's page on Open Meetings and Records:  https://attorneygeneral.nd.gov/open-records-meetings/manuals-and-guides
    Template to Use When Responding to an Open Records Request:
    https://attorneygeneral.nd.gov/sites/ag/files/documents/Open-Records-Template-For-Response-to-Request.pdf
    The Open Meetings and Record laws are in NDCC 44-04 and are found on pages 108 to 118 of the 2018 edition of the NDTOA Township Officers Handbook.  When you have put all this information together, keep a copy, this may not be the only request for this information we will see.

  • NDTOA Bakken Oil Tour - Because of unexpected delays for the printed Grassroots Report, the Bakken Tour notice did not get out in time for the sign up deadline so this tour has been canceled. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. NDTOA and the ND Petroleum Council are working to set up a tour for a future date.

  • All Annual Township Meetings - March 20, 2018

  • January 5, 2018 - Township Officer compensation is a W2 item. 1099 is not the correct form and the W2 must be filed for any amount, even if the compensation is less than $600. There is a $530 dollar fine for each W2 you fail to file. The deadline for giving W-2 to employees and filing the IRS 941 or 944 is January 31. Jan 31 is also the deadline for filing 1099 MISC to unincorporated entities/individuals that the township paid $600 or more for services during a calendar year.


Internet For All Grants for North Dakota: $130,162,815.12

High-speed Internet access isn't a luxury. It’s needed to fully engage in the economy, and it helps ensure public safety and the health of our nation. Unfortunately, too many in America lack access to affordable, reliable high-speed Internet.

Contact North Dakota’s Broadband Office for details on this program.

Broadband | North Dakota Information Technology

 

A Whole-Of-Nation Approach to High-Speed Internet

States and territories across the nation have Signed On to the Internet For All Initiative and committed to connecting their communities to reliable high-speed Internet for less through the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment and State Digital Equity Planning Grant Programs. These programs will provide more than $48 billion for infrastructure deployment, skills training, and access to technologies essential for Americans to connect with their communities, their democracy, and one another.

Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program

This program builds high-speed Internet infrastructure where we need it. It also supports efforts to teach the skills and provide the equipment needed so everyone can use the Internet.

Total Allocated to North Dakota: $130,162,815.12

Digital Equity Act Programs

Three programs that provide funding to promote digital inclusion and advance equity for all. They aim to ensure that all communities have access to and use affordable, reliable high-speed Internet.

State Digital Equity Planning Grant: $516,380.00

Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program

The Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program (TBCP) is a $3 billion program, from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Consolidated Appropriations Act, to support Tribal governments bringing high-speed Internet to Tribal lands, including telehealth, distance learning, affordability, and digital inclusion initiatives.

Standing Rock Telecommunications, Inc. Total Awarded: $8,637,952

 

To all Township Officers,

Our goal is to get the message out to townships across the state regarding the federal program on Broadband, Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD), part of the federal Infrastructure program, which is being implemented across all 50 states and territories. Now, as this historic program moves toward deployment, it’s critical that each state fully understand the needs of its residents and businesses when it comes to broadband access. Counties and Townships are an important part of the feedback the state will need to hear as it works to finalize its plans for deployment in 2024. I would like to ensure that our Township officers across the state have this information as they move into their annual township meetings later this winter.

Kim Owen

Broadband Program Specialist—North Dakota / South Dakota

Federal Program Officer

Office of Internet Connectivity and Growth (OICG)

National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA)

U.S. Department of Commerce

[c] (202) 631-3326 | kowen@ntia.gov

 

 

PLEASE NOTE: Kim Owen resides in a Township in Barnes County, North Dakota.

 

LINKS:

Home - Internet For All

Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD)

Digital Equity Act Programs

North Dakota Information Technology - Broadband

 

Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO)

You can find full details about this program in the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO).

Download the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO)

For help on how to start a broadband project, visit BroadbandUSA.

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