FARGO, N.D. – The Fargo Police Department will be without a formal chief beginning later this month.
The current chief, David Zibolski, will retire on March 27 after more than five years on the department at his leader. The chief, who came to Fargo after leading the Beloit (WI) department, announced his retirement earlier this month.
At Monday night’s City Commission meeting, City Administrator Michael Redlinger noted that Assistant Chief Travis Stefonowicz will assume the role of chief officially after his recommended appointment is brought before the commission on March 30. The action will be retroactive to March 28 – and could not be prepared in time for the Monday night meeting as Stefonowicz was out of the area for training.
Commissioner John Strand questioned why the appointment of Stefonowicz did not happen at Monday night’s meeting.
“Unfortunately, we did not have the opportunity to meet face-to-face with the assistant chief until today (Monday), because he was out of town last week,” Redlinger said. He went on to clarify that the assistant chief ‘serves as the chief in the absence of the chief,’ which means Stefonowicz will assume the position on the 28th of March – with only the formal terms and conditions being left to approve on Monday, March 30.
Next steps
Redlinger laid out a proposed timeline for the search process for the next Chief of Police in the City of Fargo.
Over the course of the next month, stakeholder feedback will be sought regarding a position description, with the finalization of that description set for April 24 and official posting three days later.
The position is proposed to close to applicants on June 16, with virtual interviews a week later and then in-person finalist interviews the week of July 13.
The chief would tentatively begin sometime in August or September.
Commissioner Dave Piepkorn recommended adjusting the timeline back one month.
“I think your choice for interim is excellent, but I don’t think we should have the existing mayor and liaison involved in the new hiring,” he said.
Mayor Tim Mahoney is currently the liaison to the police department.
