Allegany County Administrator takes leave of absence - questions swirl

The Allegany County Administrator, who has been on the job less than four months, has taken an abrupt leave of absence. Wellsville Regional News (WRN) received off the record concerns on Friday regarding the history of Debbie McDonnell, whose first day on the job was June 11th. We were told of serious concerns regarding her employment and history. WRN reached out to a number of Allegany County Legislator's today...none would speak on the record. Every lawmaker told WRN to contact the Chairman of the Board...and so we did. This is the statement released Friday afternoon to Wellsville Regional News- 

Our County Administrator Deborah A. McDonnell is out of the office on leave as of October 2, 2019.   All County operations continue as usual.   Any further questions pertaining to this leave should be directed to our Personnel Officer Bobby Budinger.

Curt Crandall, Chairman, Allegany County Board of Legislators

Mr. Budinger was not immediately available for comment.

The county sources who reached out to WRN implied some alleged deception, but would not report specifics. According to the Times Herald, her previous positions were in municipal government, serving as manager of the village of Ossining, city administrator for Poughkeepsie, and manager of Fairborn, Ohio, for many years. Before that, she was director of development for the village of Saranac Lake.