4 Fargo city communications staffers resign in wake of complaint against them, cite ‘toxic’ culture – InForum

FARGO — Four members of the city of Fargo’s communications team have resigned in the wake of an internal investigation related to the department’s work environment.

Gregg Schildberger, Fargo’s chief communications officer, submitted a six-page resignation letter to City Administrator Michael Redlinger on Tuesday, Aug. 12, saying he will step down effective end-of-day on Sunday, Aug. 17.

Also submitting resignation letters on the same day were Katie Ettish, deputy chief communications officer; Ryan Green, creative services manager; and Emily Groth, project manager.

Schildberger told The Forum he talked with Redlinger several years ago,

around the time Redlinger was hired as city administrator,

and told the incoming city leader he didn’t know how the communications team could keep doing what they’re asked to do and have any life outside of work.

“That has only worsened and at some point … for your own well being and for your own health, you need to make a decision to be taking care of you, and that ultimately is where it’s at,” he said.

Similar sentiments were passed along by Ettish in her resignation letter, who said, “Ongoing levels of stress, daily anxiety and toxic work culture fostered by City Administration and Human Resources have made it impossible for me to continue in good conscience.”

The Forum obtained the resignation letters and a complaint lodged in April by a former communications department employee, multimedia producer Zoe Bolonyi, who stated concerns about “leadership practices and workplace standards.”

In the complaint, Bolonyi called out Schildberger, Ettish, Green and Groth for how the leadership team “engages with staff and manages expectations.”

The Forum requested the complaint investigation findings and was referred to Redlinger. He did not respond to calls or emails, but the city released a statement on his behalf, which read in part: “The City has hired an outside legal firm to investigate a complaint made by a former Communications Department employee; the investigation is ongoing, and we are not providing further comment at this time.”

The statement also said work is ongoing to update the city’s communications plans and that all departments, including public safety agencies, “remain committed to providing information to the public and to news outlets in a timely and transparent manner.”

The resignations come just days after criticism of Police Chief David Zibolski’s

handling of communications with the public over a weekend of violence in the city.

Two shootings happened in a short period on Sunday, Aug. 3, killing two people and critically injuring another.

Zibolski, who was out of town at the time, did not appear before the public to explain what happened until Monday afternoon.

Multiple news conferences and discussions have occurred since,

with those involved pledging to work together to better inform the public in a timely manner.

Despite the timing of the resignations and police chief fallout, Schildberger said there is no truth to talk of a rift between himself, Mayor Tim Mahoney or the police chief.

“He (Mahoney) and the communications department are absolutely in support of everything that was discussed in the last couple of days about ways to further enhance communication methods to our community,” Schildberger said.

He added that one of the most difficult aspects of resigning is leaving his work with Fargo law enforcement.

Schildberger’s letter references strained relationships with other departments as factors in his resignation.

He said “there has been a clear and profound” power transfer from city administration to the Finance and Human Resources departments, adding that “not only are these two internal service departments at the table for nearly every major decision, they are also making operational decisions for departments in place of the department heads duly tasked with this work.”

Schildberger said that power “triangle” has relegated the communications team to be “a reactive disseminator of sanitized information rather than a strategic partner.”

“There also is a clear and intentional effort to keep discussions behind closed doors instead of shining the light of transparency on Fargo’s governmental operations,” he wrote.

The Human Resources Department used employee exit interviews against his team as evidence of poor management, Schildberger wrote, but coaching was not received, even though it was requested.

Jill Minette, city of Fargo human resources director, did not respond to an interview request from The Forum.

Alyssa Goelzer / The Forum

In late May, Schildberger was told his management team was under investigation for a complaint, but not given the nature of it, he said in his resignation letter. The team received a copy of the complaint on Aug. 7, yet had to sit for interviews with the investigator before that “without ever knowing the source of the investigation or the allegations,” his letter reads.

Schildberger said he offered his resignation to Mahoney in March and to Redlinger in May, but that “such action was not desired.”

A December 2023 Forum story looked into the roles and costs of taxpayer-funded government communications teams in the area

after the July 14 shooting in Fargo that year, in which one police officer was killed and two others seriously injured.

Local media outlets requested interviews with the officers when they’d recovered, but Schildberger said that situation would be “unwinnable” and instead, the city released its own interviews, conducted and edited by the communications team.

At the time, the city’s 12-member communications team was paid salaries totaling nearly $1 million in the 2024 budget, up from about $740,000 in 2023 and just over $590,000 in 2022.

On Wednesday, Schildberger reiterated the importance of the city communications team, pointing to the many hours of live broadcasts of news conferences and meetings it facilitates, which are of service to both the public and the media.

“It was a consistent feeling that we had to prove our worth … over and over again, not only to the organization, but to the community,” he told The Forum.

“I’ve invested 18 years in this organization, and I have absolutely no interest in tearing down or negatively impacting the image of this city,” Schildberger added.