Leelanau County Administrator Deb Allen is leaving county government, having entered a separation agreement with the county at a special session of the board of commissioners Thursday. Allen told the newspaper that her last day will be April 12, and that she will help find a new administrator with a “deep” financial background to aid in changes to the county finance structure.
“I’ve had several conversations with (the county board) where I’ve said that if I’m not the right person to lead this transition, let’s work together to implement a strategy or plan that will help implement change,” Allen said in a conversation with the newspaper.
Also on Thursday, the county board agreed to move forward with seeking a new “county administrator/CFO with a finance department that reports directly to that position,” effectively merging the positions of county administrator and finance director.
According to board of commissioners Chairman Ty Wessell, the board has talked about combining the county administrator and finance department head positions “on and off for the last year,” and one of the major benefits of the change is having one person report on county finances.
Currently, two individuals are reporting to the county board on finances – Administrator Allen and Interim Finance Director Catherine Hartesvelt. Allen said that having two people report on finances is a very unusual arrangement, and as much as a third of Michigan counties have a combined administrator and chief financial officer (CFO) role.
Management of county finances has been fraught with difficulty ever since the previous board of commissioners controversially decided to remove finance duties from the county clerk’s office and create a new department in May 2021. County commissioner and finance committee chair Doug Rexroat said he hopes a new structure will stem the bleeding of finance personnel.
“Obviously, our efforts in the past in this area have not been fruitful,” Rexroat noted at the Thursday meeting. “That being said, one definition of insanity is to continue to try the same methods and expect a different outcome. We need to try something different.”
Rexroat also said the new CFO/administrator should help board implement the recommendations outlined in a report by the county’s consulting firm Rehmann in September, which included the full transition of the county finances from the county clerk to the administrator and finance departments “as soon as practical.”
However, Rexroat added that “this position would require both administrative and deep financial experience” – and that level of financial expertise is something that Allen lacks.
When asked by the Leelanau Enterprise if the county has someone in mind for the CFO/ administrator position, Wessell replied, “absolutely not.” Wessell added that the board of commissioners “will not be in a hurry to fill this (position) because we need to make sure we get the right person for the job.”
Since the finance department was activated in January 2022, the county has gone through four department heads in short order – Jennifer Zywicki, Darcy Weaver, Jared Prince, and Sean Cowan. Since Cowan left on Oct. 20, the department has fallen under the leadership of former Suttons Bay treasurer Hartesvelt again.
Although Hartesvelt is only interim director, she has served as department head the longest. Prior to Cowan’s resignation, Hartesvelt served a six-month tenure between finance directors Prince and Cowan. Under Cowan, she was assistant finance director.
One of the difficulties in finding a permanent replacement for Cowan, according to a Rehmann presentation to the finance committee in November, has been finding a licensed certifi ed public accountant (CPA) searching for work in local government. Unlike the finance director position, Wessell said that a CFO/administrator does not need to have a CPA license.
Allen was hired by the county in December 2022 to replace previous County Administrator Chet Janik. Before she stepped into the administrator role, she worked as executive director of development and community engagement for Grand Traverse Pavilions, a retirement facility owned by Grand Traverse County, and she served as a trustee on the Elmwood Township Board.
In both the Thursday meeting and internal communications to county employees provided to the newspaper, Wessell and other board members stressed that Allen is departing with the county on good terms. Wessell said they are honoring the terms of her contract.
“Both the Board and Ms. Allen view this plan as a way to effectively move forward with the reorganization plan adopted in 2022,” Wessell wrote in an email to staff and elected officials. “The decision was made collectively. The Board appreciates her service, dedication to the County and her positive attitude. We are aware of the support and respect that she has earned from staff.”
Allen said that she plans to continue pursuing her personal goal of serving the communities of Grand Traverse and Leelanau counties after stepping down as county administrator, and that she will remain available to the county for consultation.
