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Record of Proceedings

Fargo City Commission Meeting: Appointment of Police Chief Designee & Finance Updates (May 12, 2026)

City Commission — Tuesday, May 12, 2026

BodyFargo, North Dakota

SessionCity Commission

DateTuesday, May 12, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 18:41

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:00

Work that they provided, not only to the department, but also in support of the HR team, myself, within the search process.

0:06

We received some great uh feedback on questions that we could potentially ask when we got to the in-person interview.

0:11

So I just want to make sure I acknowledge the captains and lieutenants for all the things that they did to support our process and uh and support our interim leader.

0:19

Uh, the in-person interview uh with the sole finalist was held on May 6th, and that included both a presentation from the candidate on his vision for the Fargo Police Department as well as a conventional question and answer format, again, sourcing some of that direct information from our leadership within the department as well as our HR team.

0:38

We received uh some great input, great ideas, but had a very good uh exchange uh with the interim chief.

0:44

Uh that is actually all available to uh if members of the public want to watch that.

0:47

Uh, that is on our YouTube channel that was conducted just last week.

0:51

Uh so tonight again I'm very pleased to advance the unanimous recommendation of the selection committee and their recommendation to appoint the interim chief.

0:58

And I just want to add uh my uh complete endorsement and support of this recommendation of the selection committee as well.

1:05

Uh, we believe that we've identified the candidate that's the right candidate for the right time to really take us to the next level in the department and move the department forward.

1:12

Um I would be remiss if I didn't thank the selection committee for all of their time, all of their effort.

1:17

Um I listed their names so you can see that in the packet.

1:20

We had a great amount of representation from within the department as well as um outside individuals, including Rocky Schneider from the downtown community partnership, as well as other staff members within Team Fargo.

1:31

And so with your approval uh this evening and appointment of the chief designee, Mr.

1:36

Stefanowitz, uh we will then conduct a swearing-in ceremony.

1:40

And I've talked to the assistant chief or the interim chief about that.

1:43

Uh, we would like to conduct that uh simultaneous to our police academy graduation, which is going to be held later this month on May 27th.

1:50

So nice opportunity to also swear in uh the new chief at that time.

1:54

So I'll leave it at that.

1:56

Your recommended motion is in your packet this evening, and again, just really appreciate the city commission's consideration of this unanimous recommendation of the selection committee, and I just want to add my congratulations to uh Chief Designee Stefanowitz on uh reaching this career milestone.

2:11

So thank you.

2:12

You have a motion, so move, sir, second, second.

2:15

Any discussion?

2:17

Commissioner Peckler.

2:18

So I have a question for Mike.

2:19

Uh, do you feel the public had an adequate opportunity to be involved in this process?

2:24

Well, that's a a good question.

2:26

Uh Commissioner, thanks for that.

2:27

It was a very condensed process.

2:28

And so we did not have uh in a conventional kind of search process.

2:32

We would have had uh different kind of opportunities for public input and public forums.

2:36

Did not have the opportunity due to the condensed schedule.

2:38

So I think that we accommodated as best we could, you know, given the kind of limited time that we had with this schedule.

2:43

But again, be able to turn that as quickly as we did.

2:46

I just really have to say thanks to the HR team because this was a very unconventional search in that way, and it was done in a very, very short amount of time.

2:53

So uh, but yes, I would say we did the best we could with the time we had.

2:56

Mr.

2:56

Pipgar.

2:57

Just one more question.

2:58

Why was there a limited time?

3:00

What why was there urgency?

3:01

He is the interim chief.

3:03

We we have lots of time.

3:04

What was the urgency?

3:06

Yep.

3:06

So I'll just go back.

3:07

Thank you for the question, Commissioner.

3:08

I'll just go back to the previous uh city commission discussion on that.

3:11

We absolutely presented a variety of options.

3:14

We could have done it over a more conventional search process, but this is really responding to the majority wishes of the commission at the time, uh, to be able to move forward as quickly as we could.

3:22

Um, and then also with the identification of a sole finalist.

3:26

Uh, with a sole finalist, we were able to move uh more rapidly and be able to meet uh this timeline here on May 11.

3:32

And so uh yeah, just in consultation with the liaison commissioner as well.

3:35

Uh, we had uh got that advanced and and we're able to get that in last week.

3:38

So just uh feel good about that and being able to move forward.

3:42

So, any other questions or comments?

3:45

Commissioner Strain.

3:46

Thank you.

3:46

Um, when we were going through this process, and there were some really great minds involved, and I especially appreciated the five members of the law enforcement community that were part of this selection process.

3:57

But one of the things I learned I asked and learned was how long do how long do police chiefs typically last?

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Fiscal Sustainability█████████████████████████████████████████████58%

Personnel Matters█████████████████22%

Procedural████████████15%

Public Engagement████5%

Summary of Proceedings

Fargo City Commission Meeting: Appointment of Police Chief Designee & Finance Updates (May 12, 2026)

On May 12, 2026, the Fargo City Commission approved the appointment of Interim Chief Stefanowitz as Chief Designee of the Fargo Police Department, following a unanimous recommendation from a selection committee. The meeting also included updates on city debt, audits, and other routine business. No public comments were received.

Consent Calendar

Motion to approve appointment of Chief Designee Stefanowitz was approved by roll call vote (5 ayes).
Motion to approve appointments to the Board of Appeals was approved by roll call vote (5 ayes).
Motion to approve property tax exemption for improvements made to buildings was approved by roll call vote (5 ayes).

Discussion Items

Police Chief Appointment: City Administrator Mike (position not fully named) presented the unanimous recommendation of the selection committee to appoint Interim Chief Stefanowitz as Chief Designee. The in-person interview with the sole finalist was held on May 6, 2026. The Administrator stated that the condensed process did not include conventional public input forums due to time constraints, but that the city accommodated as best as possible. Commissioner Peckler questioned whether the public had adequate opportunity to be involved. Commissioner Pipgar asked why there was urgency given that the candidate was already interim chief. The Administrator explained that the timeline responded to the majority wishes of the commission and the identification of a sole finalist. Commissioner Strain noted the typical 3–5 year tenure of police chiefs nationwide and expressed support for Chief Stefanowitz's longevity (25 years of service) and his vision for the department. Commissioner Kolpeck also thanked the selection committee and the candidate. A swearing-in ceremony is planned for May 27, 2026, concurrent with the police academy graduation.
Liaison Commissioner Assignment Updates: Commissioner Pepcorn had no update. Commissioner Turnberg provided a detailed explanation of the city's debt structure, breaking down $1.3735 billion total debt into categories: improvement bonds ($580 million, largely special assessments paid by property owners), facility debt ($48 million), utility infrastructure debt ($328 million, state revolving fund loans at 2% interest), diversion debt ($41 million to be repaid in 2026 by the FMDA), parking ramps ($37.3 million, with TIFF revenue covering operating losses), development-related debts (developer and TIFF paid), non-traditional obligations ($265.5 million for pensions and leave, decreasing due to market performance), and bond premiums/leases ($35 million). Commissioner Turnberg argued that excluding special assessments and diversion debt leaves a $752.7 million debt load, all of which is covered. He also reported a clean unmodified audit opinion from the August 27, 2025 audit by I-Bailey, and noted the communication department's budget was cut from $2 million to $486,000.
Finance Department Update (continued): Commissioner Pepcorn commented on the improvement bonds pie chart, stating that the new land development code will reform the special assessment system to shift infrastructure financing responsibility from taxpayers to developers, citing the Moody's downgrade as a reason. He questioned how much of the proposed one-cent sales tax extension would go to the diversion project, and noted that Minnesota has paid $0 toward diversion construction, while the project is 80% locally funded (opposite the typical 80% federal share). He also asked about a $50 million water supply project debt not included in the presented figures. Commissioner Turnberg replied that all diversion and water supply debt is in different buckets and not part of the city debt load presented.
Spring Cleanup Update: Commissioner Kolpeck reported that spring cleanup is over halfway done, with 773 tons collected from curbs so far. Residents on week B recycling schedule should place items on the boulevard before 7 a.m. on their pickup day.
Employee Appreciation: Commissioner Strain acknowledged the employee appreciation event, noting the thousands of combined years of service among employees.

Key Outcomes

Approved: Appointment of Chief Designee Stefanowitz (5-0 roll call).
Approved: Appointments to the Board of Appeals (5-0 roll call).
Approved: Property tax exemption for building improvements (5-0 roll call).
No action taken: Financial and operational updates were informational; no votes were taken.
Next Steps: Swearing-in ceremony for new police chief on May 27, 2026.

Meeting Transcript

Work that they provided, not only to the department, but also in support of the HR team, myself, within the search process. We received some great uh feedback on questions that we could potentially ask when we got to the in-person interview. So I just want to make sure I acknowledge the captains and lieutenants for all the things that they did to support our process and uh and support our interim leader. Uh, the in-person interview uh with the sole finalist was held on May 6th, and that included both a presentation from the candidate on his vision for the Fargo Police Department as well as a conventional question and answer format, again, sourcing some of that direct information from our leadership within the department as well as our HR team. We received uh some great input, great ideas, but had a very good uh exchange uh with the interim chief. Uh that is actually all available to uh if members of the public want to watch that. Uh, that is on our YouTube channel that was conducted just last week. Uh so tonight again I'm very pleased to advance the unanimous recommendation of the selection committee and their recommendation to appoint the interim chief. And I just want to add uh my uh complete endorsement and support of this recommendation of the selection committee as well. Uh, we believe that we've identified the candidate that's the right candidate for the right time to really take us to the next level in the department and move the department forward. Um I would be remiss if I didn't thank the selection committee for all of their time, all of their effort. Um I listed their names so you can see that in the packet. We had a great amount of representation from within the department as well as um outside individuals, including Rocky Schneider from the downtown community partnership, as well as other staff members within Team Fargo. And so with your approval uh this evening and appointment of the chief designee, Mr. Stefanowitz, uh we will then conduct a swearing-in ceremony. And I've talked to the assistant chief or the interim chief about that. Uh, we would like to conduct that uh simultaneous to our police academy graduation, which is going to be held later this month on May 27th. So nice opportunity to also swear in uh the new chief at that time. So I'll leave it at that. Your recommended motion is in your packet this evening, and again, just really appreciate the city commission's consideration of this unanimous recommendation of the selection committee, and I just want to add my congratulations to uh Chief Designee Stefanowitz on uh reaching this career milestone. So thank you. You have a motion, so move, sir, second, second. Any discussion? Commissioner Peckler. So I have a question for Mike. Uh, do you feel the public had an adequate opportunity to be involved in this process? Well, that's a a good question. Uh Commissioner, thanks for that. It was a very condensed process. And so we did not have uh in a conventional kind of search process. We would have had uh different kind of opportunities for public input and public forums. Did not have the opportunity due to the condensed schedule. So I think that we accommodated as best we could, you know, given the kind of limited time that we had with this schedule. But again, be able to turn that as quickly as we did. I just really have to say thanks to the HR team because this was a very unconventional search in that way, and it was done in a very, very short amount of time. So uh, but yes, I would say we did the best we could with the time we had. Mr. Pipgar. Just one more question. Why was there a limited time? What why was there urgency? He is the interim chief. We we have lots of time. What was the urgency? Yep. So I'll just go back. Thank you for the question, Commissioner. I'll just go back to the previous uh city commission discussion on that. We absolutely presented a variety of options. We could have done it over a more conventional search process, but this is really responding to the majority wishes of the commission at the time, uh, to be able to move forward as quickly as we could.

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