Bismarck, North Dakota

General information

Mayor:| Steve Bakken
Mayor party:| Nonpartisan
Last mayoral election:| 2018
Next mayoral election:| 2022
Last city council election:| 2020
Next city council election:| 2022
City council seats:| 5[1]
City website
Composition data (2019)
Population:| 72,777
Race:| White 89.8%
African American 2.7%
Asian 0.9%
Native American 4.3%
Pacific Islander 0.1%
Two or more 1.8%
Ethnicity:| Hispanic 2.5%
Median household income:| $64,444
High school graduation rate:| 93.8%
College graduation rate:| 35.7%
Related Bismarck offices
North Dakota Congressional Delegation
North Dakota State Legislature
North Dakota state executive offices

Bismarck is a city in Burleigh County, North Dakota. The city's population was 73,622 as of 2020, according to the United States Census Bureau.

Click on the links below to learn more about the city's...

* Mayor
* City council
* Other elected officials
* Elections
* Census information
* Budget
* Contact information
* Ballot measures

## Contents

* 1 City government
* 1.1 Mayor
* 1.2 City administrator
* 1.3 City council
* 1.4 Other elected officials
* 2 Elections
* 2.1 2022
* 3 Census information
* 4 Budget
* 4.1 Fiscally standardized cities data
* 4.1.1 Historical total revenue and expenditure
* 5 Contact information
* 6 Ballot measures
* 7 See also
* 8 External links
* 9 Footnotes

## City government[edit]

See also: City commission government

The city of Bismarck utilizes a city commission system. In this form of municipal government, a city commission, comprised of an elected mayor and a board of elected commissioners, exercises both legislative and executive powers to govern the municipality.

Apart from the legislative role of the commission, each commissioner is administratively responsible for at least one specific aspect or department, such as fire, police, public works, health, or finance.[2] The commission also appoints a city administrator to manage the day-to-day operations of the city.[3]

### Mayor[edit]

The mayor serves as the president of the city commission. He or she presides over the city commission meetings and votes on issues before the commission. The mayor holds no veto powers.[2][4]

The current Mayor of Bismarck is Steve Bakken (nonpartisan). Bakken assumed office on June 26, 2018.

### City administrator[edit]

The city administrator is responsible for overseeing the city's day-to-day operations, implementing the city's operating budget, and carrying out the policies and ordinances of the city commission.[3][5]

### City council[edit]

The Bismarck City Commission is the city's primary legislative body. It is responsible for approving and adopting the city budget, levying taxes, and making or amending city laws, policies, and ordinances. Each member of the commission is also in charge of advocating for their assigned portfolio.[2]

The city commission is made up of five members, including the mayor. Each member is elected at large to four-year terms.[2]

* Click here for a current list of commission members

Note: The mayor is not included in the list below.

Office | Name | Party | Date assumed office | Date term ends

|
|
|
|

Bismarck City Commission | Nancy Guy | Nonpartisan | 2014 | June 28, 2022
Bismarck City Commission | Steve Marquardt | Nonpartisan | 2014 | June 25, 2024
Bismarck City Commission | Mark Splonskowski | Nonpartisan | June 23, 2020 | June 25, 2024
Bismarck City Commission | Greg Zenker | Nonpartisan | June 26, 2018 | June 28, 2022

### Other elected officials[edit]

Ballotpedia does not cover any additional city officials in Bismarck, North Dakota.

## Elections[edit]

### 2022[edit]

See also: Mayoral election in Bismarck, North Dakota (2022) and City elections in Bismarck, North Dakota (2022)

The city of Bismarck, North Dakota, held general elections for mayor and two seats on the city commission on June 14, 2022. The filing deadline was April 11, 2022.[6]

## Census information[edit]

The table below shows demographic information about the city.

Demographic Data for Bismarck (2020)

| Bismarck
Population | 73,435
Land area (sq mi) | 34
Race and ethnicity**
White | 87.9%
Black/African American | 2.8%
Asian | 0.8%
Native American | 4.4%
Pacific Islander | 0.1%
Two or more | 3.3%
Hispanic/Latino | 2.4%
Education
High school graduation rate | 94.1%
College graduation rate | 36.9%
Income
Median household income | $67,629
Persons below poverty level | 8.4%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2015-2020)
**Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

## Budget[edit]

The city's budget process operates on a fiscal year cycle from January 1 to December 31. The city administrator is responsible for presenting the budget to the city commission. The city commission holds public hearings to allow for public input in the budget process. The city commission reviews the budget and proposes amendments if they are needed. The city commission then adopts the budget sometime in October.[5][7]

### Fiscally standardized cities data[edit]

The fiscally standardized cities (FiSC) data below was compiled by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy to make municipal budgets comparable across cities in the United States.[8]

“  |

FiSCs are constructed by adding revenues and expenditures of each central city municipal government to a portion of the revenues and expenditures of overlying governments, including counties, independent school districts, and special districts. The allocations to FiSCs are estimates of the revenues collected from and services provided to central city residents and businesses by these overlying independent governments. Thus FiSCs provides a full picture of revenues raised from city residents and businesses and spending on their behalf, whether done by the city government or a separate overlying government.[9]

| ”

|
|

—Lincoln Institute of Land Policy[10]

The tables below show estimated finances within city limits. As such, the revenue and expenses listed may differ from the actual city budget.

| Revenue in 2017

Revenue type | Amount
Total Revenue | $318,474,965
General Revenue | $287,904,497
Federal Aid | $15,690,145
State Aid | $94,934,760
Tax Revenue | $100,838,937
Charges & Misc. General Revenue | $76,440,656
Utility Revenue | $14,531,185
Liquor Store Revenue | $0
Employee Retirement Trust Revenue | $16,039,282

| Expenditures in 2017

Expenditure type | Amount
Total Expenditures | $368,034,267
General Expenditures | $340,253,272
Education Services Expenditure | $97,769,866
Social Services and Income Maintenance Expenditure | $8,682,783
Transportation Expenditure | $60,930,149
Public Safety Expenditure | $60,780,933
Environment and Housing Expenditure | $68,190,309
Governmental Administration Expenditure | $16,457,956
Interest on General Debt | $12,321,918
Miscellaneous Expenditure | $15,119,358
Utility Expenditure | $18,673,019
Liquor Store Expenditure | $0
Employee Retirement Trust Expenditure | $8,135,175
Intergovernmental Expenditures | $973,526

#### Historical total revenue and expenditure[edit]

To see the historical total revenue or expenditures as a rounded amount in this city, hover over the bars.[8]

## Contact information[edit]

Mayor's office
221 N. 5th Street
P.O. Box 5503
Bismarck, ND 58506-5503
Phone: 701-355-1300

Click here for city commission contact information.

## Ballot measures[edit]

See also: Burleigh County, North Dakota ballot measures

The city of Bismarck is in Burleigh County. A list of ballot measures in Burleigh County is available here.

## See also[edit]

| Suggest a link

|

* Cities in North Dakota
* Burleigh County, North Dakota
* Largest cities in the United States by population

## External links[edit]

* City of Bismarck
* Office of the Mayor
* City Commission
* Bismarck City Charter
* Bismarck City Code of Ordinances

## Footnotes[edit]

1. ↑ The mayor is included in this number as a member of the city commission.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 City of Bismarck, "City Commission," accessed October 8, 2021
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 City of Bismarck, "Keith Hunke," accessed October 8, 2021
4. ↑ North Dakota League of Cities, "City Government Basics," accessed October 8, 2021
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 City of Bismarck, "2020 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report," accessed October 8, 2021
6. ↑ North Dakota Secretary of State, "Running for City Office," accessed October 8, 2021
7. ↑ City of Bismarck, "Code of Ordinances: Title 07 - Fiscal Procedures," accessed October 8, 2021
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, "Fiscally Standardized Cities database," accessed June 4, 2021
9. ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
10. ↑ Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, "Fiscally Standardized Cities," accessed May 26, 2021

v • e

State of North Dakota
Bismarck (capital)

|

Elections |

What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2022 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures

Government |

Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy