FARGO (KFGO) – The Fargo Airport Authority has voted to hire a private company to handle payroll and other employee services now handled by the city, rejecting a memorandum of understanding from the city to continue to provide the services, as it has done since 1969.
One of the primary disagreements centers on the city’s claim that the 27 airport employees are city workers. The airport authority says it is has control of the employees. Authority member Erik Lind says the city has refused to negotiate terms of an agreement, calling the city response “hostile with a take or leave it” attitude.
Mayor Tim Mahoney says he is “profoundly disappointed” with the vote. He says the city made good faith efforts to negotiate a new memorandum after many months of talks. The mayor says the airport authority has made a bad decision for its workers as they will lose their civil service protections and the services offered by the city.
Airport board members say hiring a private company to handle those services will cost “significantly less” than the $170,000 it now pays the city for those services.