North Dakota

Fargo city staff propose higher pay caps, restructuring employee compensation plan

Published

2 years ago

June 18, 2024

Fargo city staff propose higher pay caps, restructuring employee compensation plan

FARGO — Amid struggles to hire and retain employees in a competitive job market, the city of Fargo is considering revamping its pay structure.

Fargo city commissioners gave mixed reactions to a presentation of the proposed changes during an informational meeting on Monday, June 17.

“Great plan,” Mayor Tim Mahoney said, “but if we can’t afford it, then it’s not going to work.”

The audience in the Fargo City Commission chambers on Monday was packed with Fargo firefighters following a

letter to the editor published in The Forum last November

where firefighters took their

concerns over pay and staff turnover to the public

“We have all the firemen here. They deserve a raise,” Mahoney said, “But we also want to be mindful of what we do to the taxpayers.”

The city’s Human Resources Director Jill Minette walked the commission through the proposed plan.

There are two options to consider, she said, Option A or Option B. Both include increases to employee pay across the pay step range, with Option B including higher pay caps.

For example, Minette said, an Equipment Operator III at the highest step makes about $73,000. Under the proposed changes, the pay cap on that position would rise to either $85,600 or $87,800.

There are 11 pay steps for city employees, she said. Under the proposed options, staff suggested increasing that to 17 steps and raising the pay cap.

If approved, the new plan would increase the pay amount at every step along the way and result in a higher pay cap for every position. Employees advance a step up the pay scale on an annual basis, in addition to COLA raises.

“This would have a substantial increase with the retention of the workforce,” Minette said.

In the existing pay structure, firefighters have 10 steps and police have nine. Under the proposals, they would both have 11 steps. Having fewer steps shortens the amount of time staff need to work for the city to reach those higher levels of pay and boost retention.

Fargo firefighter salaries are capped at about $84,800, Minette said. Their salaries would top out at nearly $90,000 under Option A and around $92,200 under Option B. Under the existing pay structure, police officers hit their cap at $89,700, while under Option A the cap would be $94,800 and under Option B it would be $97,100.

Around 30% of city employees are already at the maximum pay for their job, Minette said.

Those employees receive a cost-of-living adjustment each year.

The city of Fargo has seen turnover skyrocket since COVID-19, going from 4.37% in 2017 to 6.31% in 2020 before jumping to over 13% in 2021 and 2022 and going to 11.32% in 2023.

However, these higher turnover rates are still below the national average, Minette said.

“Not all resignations are due to pay,” she added. “There are a multitude of reasons that people leave.”

The cost for implementing the new pay structure options is varied, with Option A ringing up at $3 million and Option B at $5.5 million, Minette said, with roughly 80% of that cost coming from the city’s general fund.

These costs include what the city of Fargo will have to pay for all the step increases that are already heading their way in 2025, Assistant Director of Human Resources Beth Wiegman told The Forum via email. That incoming cost is $872,000, she said, meaning that, if approved, Plan A cost an additional $2.1 million and Plan B be an extra $4.69 million.

While he said he backs pay raises for staff, Commissioner Dave Piepkorn questioned how these plans would impact the city’s budget.

Staff recommended that the commission approve Option B — the more expensive of the options — before the start of 2025.

However, Commissioner Denise Kolpack said she did not have enough context to decide between Option A and Option B, noting both options seemed to be “putting the cart before the horse.”

The commission needs to discuss the big picture of city finances before deciding what to do, she said.

She asked the finance, administration and human resources staff committee to decide the city’s compensation philosophy and pass that recommendation to the full City Commission for review.

Mahoney said it’s important for the city to offer competitive salaries for staff because the city trains “excellent” people who then leave to work in the private sector.

“It is a complex salary structure. It always was. But we’re trying to be competitive,” Mahoney said.

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North Dakota

Bronze North Dakota Great Seal marks 20 years at State Capitol

Published

2 hours ago

February 23, 2026

Press Room

Bronze North Dakota Great Seal marks 20 years at State Capitol

BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) – A six-foot bronze version of North Dakota’s Great Seal has stood inside the State Capitol for 20 years.

The seal was placed in Memorial Hall in February 2006. It stretches six feet across and weighs 440 pounds. The plaque beneath it weighs 570 pounds.

Today, it remains a centerpiece in the Capitol.

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North Dakota

LIVE Updates – Virginia Cavaliers vs North Dakota State Baseball Score

Published

14 hours ago

February 22, 2026

Press Room

LIVE Updates – Virginia Cavaliers vs North Dakota State Baseball Score

Bottom of the 3rd

Top of the 3rd

Paone allows one single, but keeps NDSU off the board. They lead 1-0 heading to the bottom of the 3rd

Bottom of the 2nd

Didawick reached on a leadoff single, but nothing else for UVA. NDSU leads 1-0 heading to the 3rd.

Top of the 2nd

Paone pitches a scoreless 1-2-3 inning. NDSU leaads 1-0 heading to the bottom of the 2nd

Bottom of the 1st

Becker draws a leadoff walk, but nothing else for UVA. NDSU leads 1-0 heading to the 2nd

Top of the 1st

A walk and single put two runners on with no outs and then an RBI groundout gave NDSU a 1-0 lead. Paone got the final out, but UVA is trailing heading to the bottom of the inning.

After a surprising loss to Stetson on Saturday night, Virginia baseball looks to finish the weekend tournament on a higher note by beating North Dakota State on Sunday morning.

The Cavaliers are hoping that they will find better pitching today, as that was the main reason for their downfall. Some more offensive consistency would be great, but issuing double digit walks is not a recipe for success for this Cavaliers team. Can they bounce back and get a big win today before they head back home to Charlottesville?

John Paone is on the mound today for Virginia. Here is how UVA is lining up in today’s game:

1. SS Eric Becker

2. CF AJ Gracia

3. 1B Sam Harris

4. 2B Joe Tiroly

5. LF Harrison Didawick

6. 3B Noah Murry

7. C Noah Jouras

8. RF Griffin Enis

9. DH Aiden Harris

More Virginia Baseball News:

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North Dakota

Grand Forks places fourth at North Dakota state dual tournament to earn program’s best finish

Published

1 day ago

February 22, 2026

Press Room

Grand Forks places fourth at North Dakota state dual tournament to earn program’s best finish

FARGO, N.D. — Grand Forks girls wrestling head coach Matt Berglund had a message for his team ahead of Saturday’s North Dakota state dual tournament at the Fargodome.

“When you get to that last day of the state tournament, everybody’s going to be sore,” Berglund said. “Everybody’s going to be tired. So this is just a test of both our mental and physical will right now to get through these last three duels.”

The KnightRiders, missing a four-time state placer in Shayla DeBlaere, aced that test.

Third-seeded Grand Forks upset second-seeded Minot United with a 42-33 win in the quarterfinals en route to its fourth-place finish at the tournament.

It was the best finish in program history.

“It’s just another stepping stone with our program,” Berglund said. “We’ve qualified for the state tournament three of the four years it’s been in existence, but we’ve never finished higher than sixth. So we made that a goal this year, to keep moving up the podium. And the girls came ready to wrestle in that first match.”

The KnightRiders suffered a 50-23 loss to Lisbon in the semifinals and a 46-29 defeat to Bismarck Legacy in the third-place match.

Junior Kaylee Kurz marked personal milestones in her last match of the tournament. She bested Morgan Schneider of Bismarck Legacy by fall in 2 minutes, 39 seconds to pick up her 100th career pin and 150th career win.

“We really wanted to get that today,” Berglund said. “Otherwise, you’re waiting nine months.”

To pull off the upset against Minot United, Grand Forks needed to win some key tossups.

Maddie Look got the KnightRiders started in the 130-pound weight class. She bested Minot’s Aaliyah Laboy by fall in 4 minutes, 46 seconds.

“Maddie Look just had a great weekend, both on the dual squad and the individual,” Berglund said. “She was really a fire starter for us. Then we had a good run of middleweights pick up some wins too in those toss-up matches.”

Kurz, Sara Novak, Aulani Long and Lexi Ray each provided wins by fall to push Grand Forks past Minot United.

“We are excited about our future as girls wrestling continues to grow,” Berglund said. “It’s getting more and more difficult each year to place, so we’ve just got to make sure we’re providing opportunities in the offseason for the girls to get better. Whether that’s our weight lifting program, our club season. But more than anything else, we want them to be in multiple sports. I love multi-sport athletes, so as long as they’re doing something year round to get better, that’s what we try to push the most.”

Grand Forks Central placed sixth in the boys’ Class A dual tournament. The second-seeded Knights suffered a 58-3 loss to third-seeded Williston in the quarterfinals but rebounded with a 47-25 victory over Devils Lake in the consolation semifinals.

Bismarck Century defeated Central 39-22 in the fifth-place match.

Pembina County North placed eighth in the Class B quarterfinals. First-seeded Velva beat the Grizzlies 58-12 in the quarterfinals.

Pembina County North suffered a 44-29 loss to Hettinger/Scranton/Bison in the consolation semifinals. In the seventh-place contest, the Grizzlies lost to Williams County by a score of 52-21

Staff reports and local scoreboards from the Grand Forks Herald Sports desk.

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