The Leelanau County Board of Commissioners has spent much of the year since February searching for their next county administrator. The administrator is possibly the most powerful non-elected position, as they have authority over all departments to implement decisions by elected officials.
Since they could not find their ideal candidate this summer, the board reached a consensus Tuesday that the decision to hire a new county administrator should go to the next board of commissioners when they are elected in November. The new term begins Jan. 1, 2025.
Depending on your perspective, the board could be making the best decision with the hand they’ve been dealt. The next commissioners will serve four-year terms instead of two years, and they will need a good administrator to be effective. Or this board could be kicking the can down the road.
Shortly after the Nov. 5 election results are certified, the new county commissioners will decide whether to resume their contract with the Michigan Leadership Institute (MLI), which gathered a pool of candidates for the position earlier this year, or find another firm to lead the search.
The next step from there still needs to be determined. In the initial search, the MLI presented almost 40 candidates, and the board winnowed the list down to eight people to interview publicly. The search process may change if the new board hires a different firm.
At next Tuesday’s meeting, the board will consider extending their contract with interim Administrator Richard Lewis until May or a new administrator is hired. The current commissioners hope the next board will find a full-time administrator before Lewis’s contract ends.
Lewis was hired as interim administrator in April after the previous administrator, Allen, resigned to make way for a new person with a “deep” financial background in a combined administrator and chief financial officer (CFO) role.
However, after a series of underwhelming interviews for the administrator/CFO position in May and June, the county board may go back to the administrator role without CFO duties. The board plans to discuss the job title and responsibilities in a special meeting, to be held sometime before the end of the month.
We wish the commissioners the best as they continue their search.
