City of Fargo And Municipal Airport Authority To Enter Into Mediation

The airport authority and some commissioners have been at odds over whether airport employees are city workers

FARGO, N.D. — Fargo City Commissioners approve a 45-day mediation to try and resolve a bitter disagreement between city leaders and the Municipal Airport Authority.

If a memorandum of understanding isn’t produced, the city commission can immediately proceed with dissolving the authority and run Hector International Airport.

The airport authority and some commissioners, led by Mayor Tim Mahoney, have been at odds over whether airport employees are city workers.

The city has handled payroll and other employee services for 50 years.

But the authority has decided to cut ties and hire a private company to handle payroll.

Pat Sweeney, chairman and a co-founder of Fargo Jet Center, says he is “shocked” that city commissioners would want to dissolve the authority.

He says Fargo is booming because of the airport authority and that if the city thinks it can manage the airport, he told them, “you’re wrong.”