After successful negotiations, Leelanau County entered into an employment agreement with Northport Village Manager Jim Dyer Tuesday. Dyer will start as the full-time county administrator March 31, according to his contract.
County board Chairman Ty Wessell asked the interim administrator, Richard Lewis, if he was relieved, and Lewis responded “yes.” Lewis, a former Traverse City mayor, has been working part-time as Leelanau County’s interim administrator since April 12. By the time Dyer starts, Leelanau County will have gone just under a year without a permanent administrator.
Dyer thanked the current board of commissioners for the job offer. All six commissioners voted for Dyer in a straw poll over the other finalist, MediaNews Group Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Mark Brown, Thursday. He also thanked Wessell, Vice Chairman Doug Rexroat, and the county’s administrator search consultant, Chet Janik, for quickly completing his contract negotiations.
“I appreciate the confidence that you’ve expressed in me with that unanimous vote, and my wife and I are glad we made the move to Leelanau County to make this possible,” Dyer said. “I appreciate Mr. Janik and Commissioners Rexroat and Wessell for negotiating the contract. We got it done much quicker than, I think, we expected.”
The contract duration is one year. According to Janik, state law limits them to a one-year contract past Aug. 1 in election years for county commissioners. Dyer is not scheduled to start as county administrator until March 31. He is working elsewhere in the county as Northport Village manager and plans to honor the terms of his current con- tract’s exit clause.
“Several of you have asked, ‘why March 31?’ (Dyer) has an employment contract with the village of Northport that has a 90-day opt-out clause in it,” Janik said. “We originally thought this contract would be approved Dec. 30 or 31 … Assuming that Mr. Dyer gives notice, in theory, he could start the 90-day clock earlier and could potentially start a week or two earlier than March 31.”
“The way the contract is written, that date is subject to change. Both parties can agree to a different date. But if there is no agreement, the first date will be March 31. And that will allow Mr. Dyer to complete his obligations to the village of Northport,” Janik continued.
As county administrator, Dyer will implement the county board’s directives. His contract’s recommended salary is $127,000 per year. He will have 25 vacation days per year and 12 personal days per year, plus a $300 monthly vehicle allowance. Dyer does not plan to opt into the Michigan Employee Retirement System.
The county contracted Janik to search for a new county administrator in March. At the time, the county board was looking to combine the administrator position with a new chief financial officer (CFO) title. But since they could not find a candidate to meet these qualifications, they revised the search terms and paid an additional fee to extend the search. In total, the contract cost $8,750.
