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Murray County Board votes to replace administrator model, names Sharon Giese county coordinator
Summary
After debate and split roll-call votes, the Murray County Board approved abolishing the County Administrator position, reinstating a County Coordinator model and appointing HR Director Sharon Giese as County Coordinator at Step 1, Grade 20.
The Murray County Board of Commissioners voted May 19 to replace its County Administrator model with a County Coordinator structure and appointed HR Director Sharon Giese as the county’s new coordinator.
Board Chair Mark Carlson said the new job description and organizational chart align the county with other Minnesota jurisdictions and emphasize a collaborative, board-directed administrative role. Commissioners approved the change on Resolution 2026-05-19-01 by a 3–2 roll call vote: Woelber Aye, Meier Nay, Welgraven Nay, Zins Aye, Carlson Aye.
The board then approved the County Coordinator job description, again on a 3–2 roll call, with Carlson and supporters describing the role as a liaison to department heads rather than a direct supervisor. Commissioner Jackie Meier sought clarification during discussion that department heads would continue to report directly to the board and said she remained concerned that the county had not advertised for the coordinator position before appointing the incumbent HR director.
Following that vote, the board approved Resolution 2026-05-19-02 to appoint Sharon Giese to the County Coordinator position at Step 1, Grade 20, establishing a starting wage of $52.58 per hour. That appointment passed 4–1 (Meier opposed). Earlier in the meeting, commissioners had completed an open-session performance evaluation of Giese and recorded an overall rating of “meets expectations.”
Commissioners also approved an updated organizational chart reflecting the transition (vote 4–1) and authorized a revised Human Resources Manager job description to separate HR duties from the coordinator role; the HR Manager posting (Pay Grade 15, $39.29–$51.07/hour) passed unanimously.
Supporters said the coordinator model will better fit the board’s preferred governance style and cited benchmarking completed with assistance from David Drown & Associates. Opponents questioned the process and urged a broader recruitment for the position prior to appointment. The board did not take additional personnel actions beyond approving the job descriptions and advertising the HR Manager vacancy.
The board is expected to implement the transition steps described in the approved documents and to advertise and fill the newly posted HR Manager position.
