Many of Minot’s childcare centers stand to get hit with new taxes, potentially leading to higher costs for parents, unless the Minot City Council grants an exemption.

The City of Minot’s Committee on Childcare discussed the situation at a meeting with City Assessor Ryan Kamrowski Monday. Although the committee was one member short of a quorum, the group responded in agreement to send a message to the council in support of a property tax exemption for childcare centers.

State law allows counties and cities to adopt property tax exemptions for the portion of fixtures and buildings used primarily for childcare by a corporation, limited liability company or organization. Minot never has done so.

Kamrowski said his office has been auditing existing tax exemptions for the past few years. A recent look at childcare centers shows the city has been taxing properties of about five or six for-profit childcare centers, but it appears at least 10 others that should be assessed are not being taxed, he said.

In some cases, centers have been avoiding a tax because they operate on property owned by a nonprofit, such as a church. However, if it is a for-profit activity, that space used for childcare is taxable, Kamrowski explained.

Only two Minot daycare facilities operate as nonprofits and are getting property tax exemptions under a separate section of state law related to nonprofits. Home daycares do not fall under any category for exemption.

Kamrowski said the city would need to adopt a resolution of exemption to give for-profit facilities an option to stay off the tax rolls.

“If the council does not pass a resolution, my office will be submitting an omitted assessment on to the county auditor, which then notifies the property owner they only have 30 days to appeal the evaluation to the county board. Ultimately, it’s up to the county board to assign a value after that point,” he said. The tax would take effect in the December 2025 tax bills.

Kamrowksi said he could have added the properties to the tax rolls a month ago but found it possibly counterproductive to the goals of the childcare committee, prompting the decision to bring it to the committee.

If a resolution of exemption for childcare centers and adult daycares is passed by the council, facilities would need to apply annually before Feb. 1 to get the tax break. For this year, centers that have been assessed could apply for an abatement if the city adopts an exemption.

Committee member Scott Burlingame said a tax exemption is a tool to help support childcare that has substance.

“So much of what we’ve heard about is how difficult it is for childcare to make money and to make this process work,” Burlingame said. “We’ve had a lot of discussions about which tools are available to us. They actually can make somewhat of a difference. Well, this can make a difference.”

He added it is a tool that other cities already are using.

“You need to be active in getting this done because this is a big impact,” committee member Amy Jenkins said. “We definitely need to make sure that this moves forward.”