“North Dakotans are frustrated about property taxes, but Measure 4 was not the way to accomplish reform,” Chad Oban, chair of the Keep It Local Coalition, said in a news release responding to the unofficial election results. “The coalition’s 113 members were successful in informing North Dakota voters about the dangers of Measure 4. Local officials will continue to work with their constituents to make thoughtful decisions regarding funding and what is best for their communities.”

“We had a great number of volunteers that worked very hard, and it was a disappointment, although not overly surprising,” Rick Becker, Bismarck, sponsor of Measure 4, said of the measure’s defeat. “We knew going into the election that the opposition to Measure 4 was outspending us 20 to 1 and that those were extraordinarily difficult odds to be successful against.”

Opponents were able to get out a message of fear, Becker said.

“Measure 4 fared worse in rural areas than in urban areas, and you would typically expect the opposite for a property tax measure. But the message of ‘This is going to close small schools. This is going to close rural towns. This is going to end your small town way of life’ – that was very concerning to rural voters,” he said. “At this point in time, we are just hoping that the Legislature will be serious about taking on property tax relief and reform.”

Taking over 100% of K-12 education costs would be the place to start, he said. But until the state moves to a tax system other than levying against a property’s assessed value, political subdivisions will be stuck with its present problems, he said.

Joan Hollekim of Stanley, who had spoken out against Measure 4, said voters’ rejection of the measure likely had a good deal to do with the lack of a solid plan at the state level regarding replacement of those property tax dollars. There also was concern about inequities in how much different taxing entities would get and the amount of tax breaks going to large corporations and utility and pipeline companies in the measure, she said.

However, Hollekim said, voters also sent a clear message that they are concerned about their taxes.

“We have to control things at the local level, too, because it’s not just about the state,” said Hollekim, a Mountrail County commissioner. “But, yes, I hope this year, one of the priorities this next legislative session is property tax relief.

“I want it to be sustainable ideas,” she said of that relief. “Yes, North Dakota has money, but you’ve got to do it in a responsible manner. I think that’s our next step.”