Murray County Commissioners on Tuesday once again brought up the subject of a county administrator position versus a coordinator, but this time in a work session where no official action could be taken. The subject was discussed several months ago and again just weeks ago, with Commissioners Dennis Welgraven and Jackie Meier pushing for an administrator, while Commissioners Roger Zins and Mark Carlson want a coordinator. Commissioner Loy Woelber says the title isn’t as important but believes a coordinator is a better fit.
The reason it matters is that statutorily, an administrator has authority over the budget and several other powers, while the coordinator position can be written as the commissioners see fit.
Rehashing the conversation for a third time brought no new information to the table, but allowed each commissioner and several department heads to state their preference again.
The way the agenda items were presented during the discussion in April would have led to current Human Resource Director/Deputy Administrator Sharon Giese being named the coordinator. Welgraven and Meier objected to the discussion at the time, stating there had not been time to get the opinions of the department heads because they were only given several days warning that the subject would be on the agenda.
During the work session and reading from prepared notes, Welgraven stated his objection was not about Giese, but based on hard data and best practices after consulting with experts from the Association of Minnesota Counties (AMC). Both he and Meier stated an administrator was the way forward.
Zins once again pointed out that the state would dictate the administrative model, but with the proposed coordinator model, commissioners could mold the position and make adjustments moving forward.
At times the discussion became somewhat heated, with Welgraven questioning Zins’ facts and Meier questioning Giese’s abilities and knowledge. Meier brought up a report that was supposed to be filed and said Giese had told her it wasn’t done. Giese brought up the report and named the filing date. Meier then objected to the report being filed, stating it should have come before the board for approval. Auditor/ Treasurer Heidi Winter pointed out the report in question had always been handled by HR and asked if the conversation was germain to the decision regarding the position.
When Meier questioned Giese again about the report, Giese stated she did not trust Meier and felt as though Meier was purposefully setting her up for failure. She added that the discussion at hand was not about her, it was about the position.
Meier brought up the previous administrator, asking what she had done that was not appropriate.
“Do you think the previous administrator was going to send me down the right path?” Giese asked.
When department heads were asked for their thoughts, several chimed in.
Recorder Karen Brown said she didn’t see an administrator working, stating that in 12 years, the county had been through a coordinator and two administrators.
“With our small county the person has to work with department heads,” she said. “Maybe the title doesn’t matter, but with four changes in 12 years, something is not working.”
Zoning/Environmental Administrator Jean Christoffels, who has been with the county 27 years, said a coordinator would be best for Murray County.
“What works best is someone who will lead by example, she said. “Someone who will be down in the trenches. With a coordinator, you have control over the position. You have the ability to form our small, rural county.”
General Assistant Renee Gleason stated leadership is important to morale and the integrity of staff.
“We need to be a team to get this accomplished, and right now nobody is acting like a team,” she said. “We need to have some leadership.”
Winter said that in her opinion, the county would do better with a coordinator. Her only request, she asked, was that a decision get made and roles be defined.
“We need to get away from the culture of ‘gotcha’ moments, the culture of fear and of hiding things,” she said, Engineer Randy Groves, who has been with the county longer than anyone, pointed out that in his early years there was no coordinator or administrator. A coordinator made things tougher, and administrators even more so.
“A lot of the people who were here are now gone,” he added.
Because no legal action can be taken during a work session, the issue will now be brought back to the May 16 agenda.
During the formal meeting before the work session, commissioners heard a monthly update from MCMC CEO Luke Schryvers, who reported a strong first quarter for the hospital and clinic.
A 4-1 vote approved a resolution regarding land acquisition by the DNR for 8.87 acres in Slayton Township.
Museum Director Nick Demuth received approval to send out an RFP for a historic architect so the turntable at End-OLine can be repaired.
Approval was given on a paperwork process for repairs to County Ditch 20 and Judicial Ditch 14. Travis Radke said the project had started as a combined repair and been previously approved, but it was now necessary to separate the one project into two for paperwork purposes.
Christoffels received approval for a proposed $10,000 marketing package for Aquatic Invasive Species Prevention, with the funds for the marketing coming from AIS money.
Groves received approval on seal coating and bituminous overlay contracts. He also reported that work on Valhalla Road was scheduled to begin again on May 11 and he expected the work to go quickly.
