OK, this is hard to understand, but a property tax hike is when your property tax bill goes up:

By using some or all of the dike bond surplus - which would be about 5.5 mills - to sell infrastructure bonds, we could make needed improvements to our city’s infrastructure now without the unpleasant impact of raising taxes.

Here’s the background.  Back a number of years ago the city needed to build a new dike system to protect the system.  They figured out how much money they needed and raised the property tax rate to pay for the bonds.

But as has happened all over the country property values went up.  So their property tax rate was collecting more money than needed.  Now rather than reduce the tax rate to pay off the bonds they want to use that money for some pet projects the council wants.

I guess the city council doesn’t really give a darn about our finances.  Rising property values do not make property taxes go up.  What makes them go up is greedy politicians spending more money.  Maybe they sit around city hall claiming that they haven’t increased the mill tax rate, but people are having more and more trouble paying their skyrocketing tax bills. 

Here’s the deal.  Rising property values do NOT require any more city services.  Rising property values do not mean that the public has more money to pay to the government.

Property taxes have gone up and up in Grand Forks.  The city (and the rest of the government entities needs to stick to the necessities and return the rest to the taxpayers.  That goes even more for the county, schools and park board).