The Bismarck City Commission embarked on a familiar battle at its Tuesday meeting, where it passed a motion 4-1 asking Burleigh County to revoke its two-year tax exemption on the first $75,000 of new residential property.

Commissioner Dave Jensen was the lone dissenter on the motion and the only supporter of re-instating Bismarck's similar exemption.

Burleigh County has had the tax exemption since 1990. Bismarck established the same incentive from 1987 to 1993, when the housing market sunk with a depressed economy. Mandan also offers the exemption. When building resumed in Bismarck, City Administrator Bill Wocken said, the city eliminated the exemption.

"There was enough activity in the building market we didn't need to jump start it," he said.

Growth in the county has certainly jump-started. So much, said Burleigh County Commissioner Marlan "Hawk" Haakenson, that the county is overextended on paying for services demanded by residents there. Still, he doesn't want growth limited, even if it means the county lost out on $325,200 in tax dollars for 2004.

If Bismarck had the same exemption, it would have lost out on $449,093 for 2004's budget.

Another reason for removing the city's tax exemption was that residents who were paying taxes had to subsidize services for those who were exempt. The Bismarck commission cited that as a factor for asking Burleigh to remove its exemption.

The taxpayers are like fish in a pond, Commissioner Connie Sprynczynatyk explained, and when fish, or residents, are taken out of the pool, those left must shoulder the tax burden. The tax exemption is a tool that should be used only when it's needed, she added.

Jensen said his reason for raising the topic now is that the city has to pay for services - like a stoplight at the intersection of 43rd Avenue and State Street - that benefit county residents who come into town for shopping, work and entertainment.

In addition, he fears the city is losing out on new building to the county because of the additional incentive there.

Maybe that's a small factor, says developer Dave Patience, but for the most part the tax exemption serves as a "carrot." He said people who move to the country do so for a certain way of life not available in the city. If Burleigh removed its tax exemption, there would be only a small effect.

It's also a small worry because Burleigh County is unlikely to remove the tax exemption. Although Commissioners Scott Johnson and Haakenson would both consider eliminating the incentive, Commissioners Doug Schonert and Jerry Woodcox agree there's no reason to take it off. Commissioner Claus Lembke wasn't available for comment, but he was opposed to removing the incentive when it was last discussed in 2002.

As a real estate agent, Schonert said the tax break especially helps first-time homebuyers. The whole situation is an example of "economic development at its best," he explained.

"That extra (money) they save on taxes in the first year is invested right back into the community. Any time you build a new home you purchase things for that home, and the money turns over four to seven times," Schonert said.

City Commissioner Sandy Tabor, however, pointed out that two wrongs don't make a right. She said because the county offers the tax exemption isn't a good reason for Bismarck to extend the same incentive.

Bismarck residents bear most of Burleigh County's tax burden, something the county commission may need to be reminded of, she said.

Ultimately, homes inside Bismarck are as much of a tax value as those outside since most of Burleigh's tax mills apply to Bismarck as well.

The issue is already on the agenda, placed there by Haakenson, for the Burleigh County Commission's Nov. 10 meeting.