To the editor:
I was once again offended, but not surprised, at Commissioner Lautner’s response to the results of the County employee culture survey.
The survey identified serious deficiencies in the work culture and specifically called out Commissioner Lautner’s contribution to the problems.
This of course was no surprise to anyone but Ms. Lautner. When the Honorable Judge Kromkowski presented a letter last month signed by five department heads supporting a change in culture, Ms. Lautner accused the Judge of being “outside her lane.”
Well, if the Judge was outside her lane, it was only because she was trying to help pull Ms. Lautner out of the ditch she had driven into!
Clearly, and historically, Ms. Lautner continues to fail to understand that she works for the people of Leelanau County, not the other way around.
The residents of Solon and Kasson Township elect her, she is beholden to them at the ballot box, and also to all of the residents of Leelanau County who pay her salary and benefits. She does not have a right or duty to tell department heads what lane they should be in. The County Administrator, CFO and department heads inform the Commissioners what resources they need to properly serve the County employees and tax payers, and the Commissioners’ have a duty to secure said resources. It is past time to return Ms. Lautner to her own lane, which is something other than being a County Commissioner.
Tim Johnson Cedar
