Fargo to consider nixing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Department; new Americans urge city to rebrand – InForum

FARGO — Just three years after its creation, the city of Fargo is considering eliminating the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Department.

Mayor Tim Mahoney recently suggested the city of Fargo lay off the two people who make up the city’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, or DEI, Department, as well as 4.2 positions within Fargo Cass Public Health in order to provide city staff with a higher cost -of-living raise this year.

“These decisions are incredibly difficult,” Mahoney said in a statement provided to The Forum by the city’s communications department. “The reduction-in-force action is a reflection of the challenges associated with balancing the growing demands on City resources with the judicious use of taxpayer dollars.”

The Fargo City Commission is expected to vote on the matter during their Monday, Sept. 16, meeting.

The item is listed on the commission’s agenda as “budget related position eliminations.”

In response, leaders from the immigrant and refugee communities are speaking up to ask city leaders to think outside the box.

Instead of eliminating the department, they suggested that Fargo rebrand it to make it more effective as the community grows, according to a release from the Afro American Development Association and the South Sudanese Foundation.

“The DEI Department was created to foster a more equitable and inclusive Fargo, but its current structure has fallen short of realizing its full potential,” wrote Hukun Dabar, Afro American Development Association executive director, and Matuor Alier, South Sudanese Foundation director. “In a rapidly evolving city with an increasingly diverse population, Fargo must adapt to better meet the needs of its residents.”

This comes after city leaders, including commissioners Michelle Turnberg and Dave Piepkorn, proposed eliminating the DEI Department to lower the 2025 budget.

Fargo’s preliminary budget for next year rings in at $133 million, an increase of 11.19% from the 2024 budget of $119.7 million.

The original draft of the budget didn’t include any staff layoffs. Instead, Mahoney proposed the city not give Hector International Airport its annual $1.6 million in 2025. That idea was strongly rejected by commissioners and members of the Airport Authority.

Ultimately, the commission passed a preliminary 2025 budget that gave the airport its requested funding, leaving the city to cut elsewhere to deliver the promised raises to staff. Commissioner Denise Kolpack cast the only “no” vote on the preliminary budget.

To make up that money, Mahoney is proposing cutting six employee positions: two within the DEI Department and 4.2 within Fargo Cass Public Health.

The two positions on the chopping block in the DEI Department comprise the department in its entirety.

While 3.2 of the positions at Fargo Cass Public Health are vacant, the other — a public health analyst and operations lead — is filled, according to commission documents.

“The City of Fargo acknowledges and appreciates the contributions of the three employees whose positions are being recommended for elimination,” Mahoney said in the statement. “Their commitment to public service through their work on behalf of our residents is commendable and will be missed.”

The work done by these eliminated employees will be spread out to other city employees, Mahoney said.

Fargo’s city staff will continue to examine positions to find additional positions to eliminate to find more cost savings for the city, Mahoney said.

Fargo’s DEI Department was created in 2021 following the civil unrest that shook the nation in the wake of George Floyd’s murder by a Minneapolis police officer.

Its role is to work with city departments, members of the Fargo City Commission and other advisory boards to make Fargo more welcoming to people of every background by suggesting policy changes, improving services and linking between the city and historically marginalized community members, according to the city’s 2025 budget.

The DEI Department is earmarked to cost $296,933 in 2025, an increase of 4.96% over the previous year, according to the 2025 preliminary budget.

“The DEI Department was founded with good intentions, but to meet the needs of our growing and diverse workforce, it must evolve,” Dabar said. “Rebranding the office will transform it into a critical resource hub that not only supports the social integration of our residents but also empowers them economically, ensuring Fargo’s future prosperity.”

Dabar — a former Fargo Mayoral candidate — and Alier — a Bush Fellow, former Fargo City Commission candidate and past member of the Fargo Human Rights Commission — suggested the department be renamed the Fargo Opportunity Hub or Fargo Community Connections.

Under the new name, the department would be responsible for economic development and workforce solutions that encapsulate members of underrepresented communities, the release from Dabar and Atalier said.

That proposed work includes the following:

• Organize job fairs and skill developments to residents and businesses.
• Connect employers and job seekers.
• Fill workforce shortages in different community sectors with qualified workers from diverse backgrounds.
• Create an online portal to give people access to job training, housing support, educational resources and workforce development programs.
• Build a city that is inclusive and economically strong by enabling Fargo’s diverse population to contribute to and benefit from the metro’s growth.

“As someone who works closely with immigrants and refugees, I see the enormous potential within these communities to contribute to Fargo’s economy,” Alier said. “However, they often face barriers to fully integrating into the workforce.”

He proposed the rebranded department could be a catalyst for breaking down those barriers and ensuring all residents have the tools they need to succeed in Fargo.

In the release, both Dabar and Alier called on Mahoney, the city’s four commissioners and other community leaders to work toward restructuring rather than eliminating the department.

The Fargo City Commission next meets at 5 pm on Monday, September 16, at City Hall, 225 4th Street North.