Government
Milnor is governed under North Dakota's "Council" form of government. The council is comprised of six councilmen elected at large from within city limits. Three councilmen are elected at each election to serve a 4-year term. City elections are held in June of every even numbered year. The Mayor, who also serves a 4-year term, is the 7th member of the governing body.
The Mayor presides at all council meetings and is responsible for appointing council members to various committees and portfolios and also appoints all city officers, subject to council approval.
City council meetings are held at 5:00 p.m. the second Monday of each month at the Milnor Community Center located at 408 Main Street. Anyone interested in speaking with the council about a particular topic, should contact the City Auditor the Friday prior to the meeting to be placed upon the meeting agenda. The meetings are open to the public.
The North Dakota Open Records Statute allows anyone to request public records with no statement of purpose required. Public information requests must be made in writing to the City Office located at 408 Main Street or PO Box 70, Milnor, ND 58060.
The City of Milnor adopted a Home Rule Charter in October of 1998. The Home Rule Charter allows the city to bring some of the decision making back to the local level instead of all decisions being made at the state level. One of the reasons for adopting a Home Rule Charter was to allow the city to implement a 1% city sales tax. Money received from the sales tax is dedicated as follows: 15% for parks and recreation, 25% for economic development, community projects or any other uses the council may determine necessary, and 60% for capital improvements and infrastructure. In October of 2002, the city raised the sales tax rate to 1 1/2%, with the additional 1/2% being placed into a fund for city equipment purposes.