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Residents tell West Fargo commission they lack confidence in financial transparency
Summary
During public comment at the April 20 meeting, two residents said city financial reporting lacks transparency and raised numbers showing lower sales-tax and government fund revenues; one resident also alleged a commissioner pressured a resident to write a false letter.
Two residents used the public-comment period at the April 20 West Fargo City Commission meeting to press the commission on financial transparency and conduct.
David Withy told commissioners he was surprised that senior staff do not review monthly financial statements with the commission and highlighted a multi-year pattern where expenditures have exceeded revenues. Withy said the financial statements in the consent agenda were three months into the year and that sales tax revenues were down about 11% from last year while government fund revenues were down about 9%. He also said the city is using more than $2 million from the capital infrastructure tax fund to pay operating expenses — a practice he said conflicted with the original pledge when the tax was approved — and asked why roughly $600,000 in facility costs are not visible in the ledger.
Steve Marcourt echoed concerns about the city's finances and described an incident in which a West Fargo commissioner allegedly asked a resident to write a letter containing statements both parties knew were not true. Marcourt said the resident twice declined to comply and raised the episode as a matter of integrity for the commission.
What residents asked for: more regular review and public discussion of financial statements, clarity on the use of capital infrastructure tax funds, and an explanation of where certain facility operating costs are recorded.
City response and next steps: The chair and staff acknowledged the comments in the meeting; staff noted annual and departmental reports will be posted on departmental pages and the budget process is underway with department heads submitting expenditure requests. The commission did not take immediate action on the public comments; these statements will be part of the public record and may inform budget discussions.
Sources: public-comment remarks by David Withy and Steve Marcourt at the April 20, 2026 West Fargo City Commission meeting.
