Fargo News

Fargo Finance Director dismissed over allegations of professional misconduct

Fargo, North Dakota – The City of Fargo has terminated the employment of its Finance Director, according to information released by city officials. This decision follows an investigative report concerning allegations made about her conduct.

The investigation began on December 2, 2022, following the exit interview of a long-serving finance manager. In this interview, the manager outlined a series of concerns about the Finance Director, Terri Gayhart, characterizing her as routinely tardy for meetings, employing unprofessional language when discussing colleagues, and demonstrating inadequate communication skills. These issues were cited as key reasons for the manager’s departure after over 15 years of service in the city.

These concerns prompted a number of performance coaching sessions on February 1st and 13th, 2023. Subsequently, the City Administrator and Human Resources Director conferred with Mayor Tim Mahoney on March 14th regarding the complaints against the Finance Director. She was placed on administrative leave on March 31st, while officials launched an investigation to assess the credibility of the accusations.

The inquiry found the Finance Director to have demonstrated a lack of professionalism, ineffective communication, and poor leadership. Allegations collected during interviews for the investigation included: isolating team members who she perceived as threats, resorting to inappropriate behavior such as pounding her fists on tables, and using derogatory terms to describe city employees. Moreover, it was reported that her communication within the team was minimal. The report highlighted that she had conflicts predominantly with female team members and that “She treats the male members of the team better than the female members.” As per the report, this differential treatment breached the city’s ethics and conduct policy.

The Finance Director, however, has disputed several of these allegations. She asserts that she never employed derogatory language when addressing employees, and she does not recall any incidents where she denigrated a commissioner or made inappropriate remarks about someone’s physical appearance. She also denies any recollection of pounding her fists on desks.

Mitch Havens

Mitch holds a distinguished position as a foremost authority at Fargo News Now. Drawing upon his prior expertise garnered from renowned publications such as CNN and Time, our ambitions extend beyond merely serving the local community, as we also aspire to make a national impact in the realm of journalism.

Comments are closed.