CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The state Ethics Commission has issued a public reprimand on Clarksburg City Manager Tiffany Fell.
The reprimand is part of a conciliation agreement reached between the commission and Fell.
The Ethics Commission met Thursday in Charleston.
The commission said Fell violated the state Ethics Act when she used her office for private gain by bringing her infant child to the workplace while having other city employees to care for the child during work hours.
MORE Read conciliation agreement here
According to the facts laid out in the conciliation agreement, the care happened during June and July of 2025 after Fell returned to work a week after giving birth to the child. The evidence said the care by employees increased when Fell had meetings or conferences.
The agreement said the allegations include “the infant care directly impacted the ability of employees to conduct city business including instance(s) when the city administrative assistant had to type official minutes in the dark in order to keep the infant calm and from crying as well as causing. some city workers to fall behind on their job duties and rely on each other to catch up late work.”
An ethics complaint was filed against Fell on Oct. 28, 2025.
In the agreement released Thursday, Fell admitted that she violated the state Ethics Act but said she never intended to do so.
“To the contrary, I took very little time off of work after the birth of my child because of my love for my job and my desire to avoid any interruption to the significant amount of beneficial projects being pursued for the benefit of the citizens of Clarksburg. My child mostly slept while at the office,” Fell wrote. “I realize that although it was not my intent to violate this provision of the Ethics Act, I acknowledge it gave the wrong impression of city operations and was contrary to City policy.”
Fell has agreed to a public reprimand, a $2,000 fine, agrees to undergo Ethics Act training and agreed to take no adverse action against the two employees involved in the investigation unless she has justifiable cause to do so.