Two directors have resigned and another has been fired from the city of St. Cloud in the last few weeks. However, one of those directors wants an investigation into why she was terminated.

  • 2 directors resigned from St. Cloud, another fired
  • Former economic development coordinator says she doesn't know why she was fired
  • Says city manager gave her a raise, she got outstanding evaluation

It is not clear why, but within the last two months the Public Services Director and Finance Director for the city of St. Cloud have both resigned.

Laura Gambino, the former Economic Development Coordinator, told a city council meeting she was expecting to be promoted but was terminated instead.

“There are no reprimands absolutely no adverse action in my file whatsoever,” said Gambino.

In that city council meeting, City Manager Joe Helfenberger said Gambino was assuming she had an official offer for assistant city manager, but that was never put into writing. Helfenberger also said employees felt threatened by Gambino’s aggressive behavior.

“By passing the chain of command, unruliness towards city directors, disruptiveness with the city hall and insolence towards city employees,” Helfenberger said.

But despite that, Gambino got an outstanding rank in her six-month evaluation, signed by the city manager himself.

“The termination documents contained accusations and statements that are not true and I would like it noted on record that I challenge the statements made,” Gambino stated.

In the last council meeting, the city manager said that in the future he plans to talk to all the staff around a director before making a final evaluation.

While Gambino would not talk to us on-camera, she told us over the phone that she didn’t understand why she was fired, noting that she was even offered a raise -- this one in writing. And on a personnel action sheet presented, you can see the nearly $20,000 raise.

However, according to a memorandum sent out a couple of days later, the city manager froze salaries, rescinded any raises discussed and instead requested a citywide salary study.

“I like my job and I enjoy what I do and I do a good job," said Gambino. "I know that all of my accomplishments during the short time that I have been here, have been received with positivity throughout the city.”

Because Gambino was placed in a probationary period, the city manager had the ability to terminate her position. We reached out the city manager for a sitdown interview, but he did not return our phone calls.

We will also note that the current assistant city manager, who is also the fire chief, is asking for someone else to fill his position full time.