After a closed session to conduct a performance evaluation, Murray County Administrator Carolyn McDonald was placed on paid administrative leave Tuesday, effective immediately.
The county recently conducted a staff survey entitled “Your Voice Matters,” which was brought up by Commissioner Roger Zins during the September 16 meeting.
In that meeting, Zins asked that a discussion regarding the survey results be added to the agenda. Commissioners Dennis Welgraven and Jackie Meier both objected, with Welgraven stating it should be discussed in a closed session or work session, and Meier stating they needed to seek legal counsel.
Zins stated he thought the information was public and that it should be discussed publicly, but Welgraven and Meier did not allow the discussion to be part of the open meeting agenda that day.
After a closed session that lasted more than an hour on Tuesday, Commissioner Loy Woelber, reading from statements prepared on the laptop of Murray County Attorney Travis Smith, made a motion that McDonald be put on paid leave immediately. Both Welgraven and Meier voted against the motion, which still passed by majority.
Woelber made two other motions that passed unanimously – one that authorized legal counsel to assist in arranging for an investigator to conduct an outside investigation into the complaints against Mc-Donald. The motion states the investigation would be used in making a recommendation for board approval. The second motion by Woelber states that Welgraven and Commissioner Mark Carlson would be points of contact for legal counsel and the investigator.
Legal counsel will come from the county’s labor attorney.
The survey in question was sent to all county staff in late August and contains questions regarding county leadership, expectations, benefits, and other work-related subjects. The survey was conducted anonymously in a “strongly agree” to “strongly disagree” format and left space for comments.
The Wheel/Herald has requested a copy of the survey, but as of Wednesday, one had not been provided.
In other action, the Murray County Commissioners on Tuesday approved an 8.13 percent levy increase for 2026, also setting a date of November 25 at 6 p.m. for a 2026 Budget Hearing. At that time, the budget and levy will be discussed and the public allowed to speak on the subject.
The increase approved is a not-to-exceed figure, meaning the commissioners can lower that increase before they certify the levy in December, but it cannot be raised past the 8.13 percent.
The 8.13 percent amounts to a $10,745,255 gross levy. With county program aid, the net levy would be $10,024,548.
The commissioners also adopted a resolution for agency agreement between the Minnesota Department of Transportation and Murray County regarding federal participation in the County Road Safety Plan.
