FARGO – Firefighters and police officers emerged victorious from the Fargo City Commission meeting on Monday, Aug. 19.

The firefighters’ union successfully petitioned fire commissioners to put a new sales tax measure on the ballot for the November vote that, if passed, would help fund Fargo’s emergency responders.

However, it was a narrowly won motion.

The 20-year measure to increase the sales tax by a quarter cent passed by a vote of 3 to 2. Commissioners John Strand, Denise Kolpack and Michelle Turnberg voted in favor, while Commissioner Dave Piepkorn and Mayor Tim Mahoney opposed.

Fargo firefighters have been complaining since November of last year about pay levels that they say are insufficient to retain employees.

Chris Flynn / The Forum

As the city has grown, the need for first responders has also increased, said union leader Eric Eisenlohr.

“There are a lot of people that we protect every day, whether it’s firefighters or police, who don’t pay for the services they receive,” Eisenlohr said of the people who come through Fargo and need emergency services.

This sales tax measure is an alternative to increasing property taxes to provide more money to the rescue services and ensures that outsiders also contribute to covering the costs.

He expects the bill, if passed, to bring in $8 million each year. Police and fire departments plan to spend that money on operations, equipment and new buildings. West Fargo voters narrowly passed a special public safety sales tax in 2022.

Not only does Fargo employ fewer firefighters and police officers than other cities, he said, it also doesn’t spend as large a percentage of its budget on first responders as other cities.

With the additional money, the fire department wants to strengthen employee loyalty, increase staffing levels and improve equipment.

In the meantime, the police department plans to build a new headquarters, set up satellite offices throughout the city, hire new personnel and open a regional law enforcement training center.

The lowest-paid firefighter in Fargo earns a starting salary of $56,000 per year, and the highest-ranking firefighter makes a maximum of $150,000.

The police salary scale starts at $60,000 per year and the highest ranking officer receives a maximum of $150,000.

Chris Flynn / The Forum

It’s high time to address concerns about emergency responder pay, Kolpack said, noting that firefighters in Fargo have been raising the alarm about their compensation for decades.

“The intention here was in no way to play one department off against the other or to create the impression that there were favorites among the departments,” said Kolpack.

This is a “creative” way to get more money to the city of Fargo given its budget problems “that we simply cannot handle,” Kolpack said.

Turnberg congratulated the firefighters on their idea and expressed her full support.

“At our meetings, many people come and complain,” Turnberg said. “I commend you for not just complaining, but for taking action.”

Not all commissioners were so enthusiastic about the idea.

“It’s just unbelievable how selfish that is,” Piepkorn said. “It’s ‘Team Fargo,’ right? Except that the team is the A-team, so the police and fire department. And everyone else? Not so much. That’s the message I get.”

The commission’s job as elected officials is to create a budget that serves the needs of the entire city, Piepkorn said, noting that it is inappropriate for staff to put the interests of their own department above the needs of other parts of the city in the court of public opinion.

“You’re taking advantage of what generations of firefighters have built,” he said. “The people of Fargo love the police and fire department. They love you. But this will change their view of you … I think you’re making a big mistake.”

Mahoney agreed.

A majority of the commission voted against raising property taxes in Fargo this year, Mahoney said, adding that he was confused why they would now support a sales tax increase.

“I think people get fed up with taxes sometimes,” Mahoney said. “A sales tax would be nice, but it puts an additional burden on a population that is already taxed to the limit.”

When West Fargo introduced its public safety sales tax measure, they had been considering the idea for years and had a detailed plan on how the money would be spent, he said.

The Fargo Fire Department’s proposal has only been in the works for a few months and has not been discussed with the finance department or city administration, he said.

Over the years, the city has invested “significant sums” in public safety and increased staffing levels accordingly, he said.

However, Strand said it was not his job to decide on that idea.

He said the commission should put the idea to voters so they can make the final decision.

This is not the only sales tax that will be voted on this November.

Members of the Fargo Dome Authority are making their second attempt to get voters to approve a sales tax to fund improvements to the Fargodome, an entertainment venue at 1800 North University Drive.

They are calling for a sales tax of a quarter of a cent to be levied over a period of 20 years.

This idea has been in the works for over 10 years, Mahoney said, voicing concern that Fargo residents do not have enough appetite for both sales taxes, in addition to the proposed 3% lodging tax increase proposed in November to fund a convention center.

If both sales taxes were passed, the total sales tax in Fargo would be 8%, while it would be 7.875% in Moorhead and 8% in West Fargo.

According to Kolpack, the city of Fargo is behind on paying its employees in all areas.

The $133 million budget for 2025 includes a 3.5 percent raise for city staff to improve retention. However, city leaders met Monday morning to discuss what other cuts could be made to give city employees a larger raise. The proposed raise would be in addition to regular raises.

Employees in Fargo earn about 3.5 percent less than employees in comparable cities, she said.

Just this week, one of Fargo’s employees left the company to take a better-paying job in the private sector, she said. She wants the city to look at where it can cut costs across the board to fund raises for employees.

Some commissioners advocated giving city employees a 4.5% raise in 2025.

To fund the 4.5% increase, however, commissioners will have to cut $1.2 million in spending from the 2025 budget, which Mahoney said has already been cut to the bone.

Commissioner Dave Piepkorn has repeatedly said the city could raise that money by “closing down” the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Department, cutting spending on the communications department and closing the Downtown Engagement Center, which provides daily services to the homeless.

However, not everyone is convinced by this plan.

That $1.2 million shouldn’t have come from the communications department, Kolpack said. Before retiring, Kolpack worked for 15 years as vice president of brand and marketing communications for a private company.

“I’m tired of the disingenuous comments about our communications and government team,” Kolpack said. “It started with a story from a media outlet that left some things out. Their work is critical to the City of Fargo and its citizens.”

This work includes broadcasting city meetings, completing public records requests, and writing press releases.

Piepkorn described the city’s communications department earlier this month as “bloated” and “wasteful.”

The City of Fargo has a 12-person centralized communications team whose total salaries (excluding benefits) are just over $1 million in the 2025 budget. That’s up from $916,000 in 2024, nearly $650,000 in 2023, and just over $590,000 in 2022.

Fargo’s communications department has grown from a team of four to 12 employees since 2019. The communications department requested $2 million in the 2025 budget, 11.55% more than in 2024.

Fargo’s nest egg fell below internal targets for 2022 and 2023, said Brian Stavenger, representative of Eide Bailly. In recent years, it has been above that 25% mark.

The goal is to ensure that the city has enough money in its savings account to keep operations going for two months in the event that revenues stop, he said.

However, a national standard sets that target at 15 percent, Stavenger added.