In Williston, some special assessments with the biggest balances don't show up on a current tax statement at all. On October 13, the Williston City Commission voted 3-1 to defer assessments in two improvement districts until January 1, 2030. Those assessments had already been deferred for 11 years. The deferral also has a built-in exit: selling the property ends it.
That puts the closing table at the center for anyone buying or selling a lot in these districts. Water, sewer and street work can sit unpaid against a parcel for more than a decade. A routine search of this year's taxes can miss it. The bill then lands in a transaction that has to settle who pays it.
The trigger written into the deferral agreements
The two districts are D13-10 and D15-10. The Williston Herald reported that D15-10 covers water, sewer and street improvements on four lots near 16th Avenue and 58th Street, with a total assessed value of $250,465.75. D13-10 covers water, sewer, storm sewer and street improvements and assesses $3.24 million across seven lots around 42nd Street and University Avenue.
Here is how the timeline played out, according to Herald coverage of the September and October meetings:
- The city created three assessment districts in 2013, and payments were deferred from then on.
- The Commission approved the D13-10 and D15-10 assessments on October 13, 2015, after public hearings that year.
- Under the existing deferral, collection would have started in 2027 and run on a 20-year schedule to 2047. The full amount would come due right away only if the property was sold or its zoning, plat or name changed.
- On October 13, 2026, the Commission approved another three years for D13-10 and D15-10. Commissioner Matt Clark voted no and Commissioner Brad Bekkedahl was absent.
- Owners had to sign and return the new deferral agreement by Friday, October 23. If any owner did not, the existing deferral expires January 1, 2027. Owners who signed in time have until January 1, 2030 to start payments.
The new agreements keep the same exit. According to the Herald, the deferral ends on a "triggering event," such as selling the property or changing its zoning, plat or name. In the commission packet, City Attorney Jordon Evert wrote that the extra time was meant to "give the owners additional time to plan for payment, sale or development." In other words, a sale is one of the expected ways these balances get resolved. A builder replatting a parcel for a subdivision runs into the same trigger.
A third district, D16-2, assesses $204,494.53 across four lots for water, sewer and street improvements. The Special Assessment Commission recommended that it stay deferred until the properties are sold or developed.
The amount itself can move before anyone pays it
A deferred figure is also not guaranteed to be final. At the Special Assessment Commission's annual hearing on September 8, owners in D15-10 argued that parcels on the east side of 16th Avenue benefited from the improvements but were never assessed. That could mean owners on the west side were overassessed. Former City Commissioner Tate Cymbaluk helped create the districts in 2013. In the Williston Herald's account of the hearing, he said:
"That should be something that should be looked at. I understand the money's already been spent. It is what it is, but to be fair and equitable, that would make the most sense to go back."
The hearing commission voted to recommend that the City Commission negotiate a reasonable payment amount with D15-10 landowners. In October, the city attorney's commission packet said all property owners had agreed to the original assessments and recommended the three-year deferral instead. Within about five weeks, the official position went from possibly reducing the amounts to deferring them as assessed.
Per-lot amounts in these districts can be large; D13-10 alone spreads $3.24 million across seven lots. When an owner asked at the hearing about paying ahead of schedule, city officials said they would "be happy" to accept early payment. Staff also said owners can request the full 20-year payment schedule to see the projected payments and how they were calculated.
According to the City of Williston's special assessments page, owners can attend Special Assessment Commission hearings to ask questions or request changes, and those hearings are normally held once a year, in the fall. Anyone under contract on a lot with a pending or disputed assessment is dealing with a number that can change during that annual cycle.
What the tax statement shows, and what it leaves off
Most buyers start by pulling the county tax record. The Williams County iTax portal lets you search by parcel number, owner name or property address. Its data update notice reads October 20, 2026. A 2025 Williams County statement for a parcel with a Williston address shows a line labeled "Plus: Special Assessments," broken out into principal, interest, the installment due and the remaining balance.
That record covers assessments that are already being collected. Under North Dakota Century Code chapter 40-24, certified installments go onto the county tax lists and are collected the same way as general taxes. A deferred district that hasn't started collecting has no installment to certify. The statute also splits payoff by status: certified portions go to the county treasurer, and uncertified portions go to the city auditor, who can provide a certificate of the amount due.
The city divides responsibility the same way. Payment questions go to the Finance Department at 701-577-8100. Questions about how an assessment was calculated, or about upcoming assessments, go to the City Engineering Office at 701-577-6368. For a deferred or pending assessment, Engineering is the office that holds the details.
The statute also explains why these balances matter in a sale. An approved special assessment is a lien until it is paid, and it generally ranks ahead of other liens except general tax liens. Sewer, water main, paving and street assessments can run as long as 30 years. Interest is capped at 1.5 percentage points above the average net interest rate on the warrants or bonds that funded the project, so there is no single statewide rate.
Where the purchase agreement puts each piece
The North Dakota Association of Realtors purchase agreement, Rev. 8/2025, handles specials in four separate pieces. Two have printed terms, and two are left for the parties to choose.
| Piece of the assessment | What the printed form says |
|---|---|
| Installments due in prior years, with penalties and interest | Seller pays on the closing date |
| Installment for the year of closing | Checkbox: prorated, assumed by buyer, paid by seller, or other |
| Remaining unpaid balance, with interest | Checkbox: buyer assumes, seller pays at closing, or other |
| Work in progress, pending or proposed | Buyer assumes the balance, if applicable |
The last row matters most for deferred and pending districts. The checkboxes are where a remaining balance gets negotiated. For work that is pending or proposed, the printed language assigns the balance to the buyer if it applies. After closing, the buyer pays any unpaid specials the agreement doesn't otherwise cover. The form also states that future taxes and special assessments are only estimates and tells the buyer to make an independent inquiry.
New notices during a pending sale are handled separately. If the seller receives notice of a new improvement project before closing, the seller must notify the buyer right away. The parties can then agree in writing on payment terms. If they don't agree, the buyer can terminate and get any earnest money back. NDAR's seller disclosure, Rev. 9/2026, asks whether the seller has received governmental notice of future assessments.
Timing matters for anyone closing in the next few weeks. Under chapter 40-24, annual certified installments become a lien between seller and buyer as of December 1 unless the purchase contract says otherwise. For a closing near that date, the form's closing-year installment checkbox is the place where the parties record how that installment is handled.
The smaller specials that still show up at closing
Assessments aren't limited to big infrastructure districts. The same October 13 meeting approved three routine ones. PL-26 is a three-year parking lot district that covers snow removal, painting, striping and sweeping. One owner's total for the three years was $537.22, or an estimated $179.07 a year. D25-1 is an opt-in sidewalk district: owners pay over 20 years in exchange for renovating an existing sidewalk or building a new one. LM26 covers lot mowing, tree removal and code compliance services. At the September hearing, the LM26 total was $282,087.50 across the assessed properties.
A sidewalk owners opted into, or a mowing charge for a vacant lot, carries a balance the same way a street district does. The purchase agreement handles both with the same four rows.
This is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Before signing, confirm the assessments on a specific property with the City Engineering Office and your own attorney or title professional.
FAQ
Does a deferred assessment show up on the Williams County tax statement? The county statement itemizes certified special assessment installments. State law sends uncertified portions to the city auditor, so for deferred or upcoming assessments, contact City Engineering at 701-577-6368.
Can an owner pay off a special assessment early? Chapter 40-24 allows full or partial payoff, and city officials told one D13-10 owner at the September hearing that they would accept early payment.
Does replatting a lot count as a triggering event? The Herald reported that the D13-10 and D15-10 deferrals end if the property's zoning, plat or name changes, as well as on a sale.
If you're listing or buying a Williston lot that may sit in an assessment district, Carla Kemp can pull the parcel's tax record, help you get the assessment details from the city before an offer is written, and make sure the specials section of your purchase agreement reflects what's actually owed. Get your free home valuation, and ask about special assessments on your parcel while you're at it.
