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Mackinac County places animal shelter manager on paid leave, fires employee amid complaints
Summary
The Mackinac County Board of Commissioners voted June 26 to place Animal Shelter Manager Donna Des Jardins on paid administrative leave and terminated employee Ginger Valentine; the board moved to designate an interim manager and received multiple public comments supporting shelter staff.
The Mackinac County Board of Commissioners voted June 26 to place Animal Shelter Manager Donna Des Jardins on paid administrative leave and to terminate the employment of county employee Ginger Valentine.
At the meeting in St. Ignace, Commissioners Austin Kimberling, John Kling, Mike Patrick, Daryl Schroeder and Judy St. Louis-Scott recorded unanimous roll-call votes approving both actions. The board directed Des Jardins to turn over access and control of all shelter accounts, including social media, to ensure continued operation of the county animal shelter.
The actions came after several members of the public spoke in support of the shelter and its staff. Public commenters listed in the minutes included Joe Durm, Sandy Durm, Dr. Mary Alban, Stephanie Matson, Sara West and Joann Ford; each spoke on behalf of the animal shelter and staff.
Animal Shelter Manager Donna Des Jardins told the board she "feel[s] the Animal Advisory Committee has been causing problems and-harassing the shelter staff" and that she believes "the members want to have her fired," according to the meeting minutes. The board also moved to designate Shannon Becker as interim Animal Shelter Manager "subject to Animal Shelter Advisory Committee guidance as outlined in the animal shelter policy during the pendency of the investigation and applicable administrative leave." The minutes record the motion but do not include a roll-call result for the interim designation.
Commissioner John Kling also moved that the county issue a public statement regarding the misuse of county funds; that motion passed on a unanimous roll call. The board instructed Des Jardins to hand over account controls to enable continued shelter operations while the investigation and administrative leave are pending.
The minutes record the termination of Ginger Valentine as "due to insubordination" with a unanimous roll-call vote. The record does not include additional detail about the factual basis for the termination or the scope and timetable of the investigation into Des Jardins, beyond the administrative-leave directive.
The board did not attach written findings to the minutes included in the meeting packet. The meeting concluded without further public action on the matter; the minutes do not specify next steps for the investigation or an expected timeline for a final determination.
