Agricultural land values in Ward County have declined for 2024 assessment purposes.

The North Dakota Tax Department has provided a valuation of $613.44 per acre for Ward County agricultural land, which is an average of $807.87 an acre for cropland and $163.89 an acre for noncrop land.

The Ward County Commission on Tuesday accepted the recommendation of the county soils committee to adopt a county average that is 94% of the valuation, or $576.63 per acre, which falls within the state tolerance level for assessments.

The current average value of $606.08 per acre for agricultural land also is based on 94% of the tolerance level.

Statewide, the average agricultural value per acre for 2024 assessments is $674.

In other business, the commission passed a motion supporting its previous denial of a 2020-2021 abatement request from Stonehaven Development Inc./55th Holdings on undeveloped property in southeast Minot. The district court had remanded 398 of 733 parcels in the request back to the county for more information prior to a ruling.

The commission approved a motion indicating its denial is based on the property not meeting requirements to be classified as lower-valued agricultural land and on the finding that providing an assessment discount would place the property below market value based on past sales.

The commission also discussed the City of Minot’s interest in potentially using a portion of fourth floor space in the Ward County Administration Building for municipal court. The commission plans to consider other possible tenants before decisions are made.