Walnut Grove ratifies city administrator contract for Joe Morris, effective Jan. 1, 2026

The Walnut Grove City Council approved a new employment contract for Joe Morris to serve as city administrator, effective Jan. 1, 2026, following a brief executive session.

After reconvening from executive session, Speaker 5 moved that the council approve the contract "to go into effect 01/01/2026 between city of Walnut Grove and Joe Morris as our city administrator." The motion was seconded and the council adopted the agreement. Council discussion recorded a change to section 8, paragraph d (severance items), to include "2 consecutive working days for more than 10 working days within a total of any 12 month period" — language reflected in the meeting record as part of the agreed amendment.

The contract was approved by a voice/hand vote; the transcript records the effective date and the employment relationship but does not include other financial or term specifics beyond the severance-language edit read into the record. The city attorney and administration will retain the executed contract and any related personnel records.