The City of Fargo has terminated its Director of Finance less than one year after she was hired after an investigation found that Terri Gayhart lied on her job application about staff conflicts at previous jobs, lacked leadership and communication skills, and violated the city’s conduct and ethics policies, among a litany of other concerns.
Gayhart took over as the city’s Finance Director on May 23, 2022, after an executive search by the firm Baker Tilly.
An Investigation Summary Report issued by City Administrator Michael Redlinger, the city’s Director of Human Resources Jill Minette, and two other Human Resources employees says within a month of Gayhart’s start date, various employees started reaching out to Human Resources for advice about how to communicate with the new Director and relaying concerns about her. By December the city’s longtime Finance Manager had quit her job, citing Gayhart’s leadership as the primary reason for her departure.
