New Public Budget Hearing Requirement
With the passage of HB 1176, all local governments, including townships, must hold a “2026 Public Budget Hearing”. This budget hearing must be held between September 7th and October 7th. You are required to notify your county auditor of the date, time, location of your meeting, and where or how the public can view your township budget (website, or clerk's phone number, etc.). You must give the auditor this information by August 10th, or your township will be limited to the dollars that were levied last year.
WHAT YOU NEED TO DO AT THIS SPECIAL MEETING: All you need to do is hold the budget hearing, have your 2026 budget handy for anyone who shows up. You explain to your township residents that your budget was approved back in March, and the numbers will be placed on their tax statements come December. You will need to record the minutes from this special meeting, including the names of all attendees.
This new budget hearing does not change the normal requirement that township voters approve the township budget at the annual meeting in March. Townships that levy less than $100,000 previously were exempt from this requirement, but that exemption was not included in the last version of HB1176, the property tax relief and reform bill the legislature passed in the last days of the session. Townships were included along with counties and cities as a result of this change. Counties and cities typically approve their budgets in the August-September timeframe, which is why they hold budget hearings during this period. Townships will continue to approve their budgets in March.
If your township levies less than 18 mills, or if you want more information about the new levy caps, you will want to view this page of the NDTOA website: Levy Caps Page
There are also levy requirements to qualify for Flex Fund grants and direct payments. For more information, check this page. Flex Fund Grants Page