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Fargo staff propose shifting auditor duties to finance; commissioners urge caution and a pilot
Summary
Staff proposed reassigning finance‑related duties from the auditor’s office to the finance division and naming the finance director as city auditor upon the current auditor’s retirement. Commissioners raised conflict‑of‑interest, workload and oversight concerns and suggested a limited pilot and revisiting job descriptions in six months.
City staff presented a proposal to restructure the auditor’s office by moving finance‑specific duties into the finance division, shifting records‑request responsibilities to the auditor’s office, and appointing the finance director to carry the city auditor title after the current auditor retires.
Staff said the change reflects how the auditor title has evolved and argued it would align special‑assessment certification and project accounting with staff who perform those functions. The proposal would preserve customer‑service duties (business/licensing, utility billing, parking tickets, elections) in the auditor’s office and keep a deputy auditor role (Angie Baer) for continuity. Staff projected more than $100,000 in net annual savings when some costs are reallocated across funds.
Several commissioners said the auditor title is a legacy statutory requirement and warned that giving the finance director the auditor title could create a perceived conflict of interest because the finance function would both perform and attest to certain calculations. Commissioner Coppet cautioned that smaller jurisdictions do this model but that Fargo’s scale and staffing differences could change outcomes and asked for a six‑month reevaluation of job descriptions and workloads. Commissioner Pepporn suggested appointing the assistant city auditor as interim instead of the finance director. Commissioner Strand and others urged education, trial periods, and clear evaluation criteria.
Staff said no action was required at the finance committee briefing; the restructure is scheduled as an action item on the regular commission agenda later that evening. Staff agreed to bring detailed job descriptions and to monitor the change and report back, and commissioners proposed a pilot or interim arrangement to protect continuity and oversight.
The commission did not vote at this meeting; staff said they would update the written motion for the evening agenda if commissioners request interim or pilot language.
