Jim Dyer began his tenure as Leelanau County administrator this week.
And, if past experience is any indication, he’ll do just fine.
Dyer worked for 30 years as a municipal attorney downstate, spending off time in the county of a fractionallyowned condominium at the Homestead with wife, Jeanette.
But, it was during a stay around the time of COVID when thoughts turned to making Leelanau home.
“We love the area and decided we’ve got to have a place where we can come anytime we want,” he said.
Dyer learned of a village manager’s position open in Northport and at the urging of a friend, threw his hat into the ring.
“It took a leap of faith and it’s been a really good experience,” he said last week. “It was tough to leave Northport.”
Dyer was hired in Northport in October 2022 and served as the first village manager in Northport in decades.
The Ann Arbor native and Cooley Law School graduate, he brought with him years of experience as a mediator, working as a municipal attorney and corporate counsel for Calhoun County. This work brought him to more than 60 of the state’s 83 counties.
During just over a year as Northport Village manager, Dyer established something of a reputation as a mediator.
His conflict resolution skills could be the remedy for the interdepartmental drama in county government. Last year, employees gave the work culture an average rating of 3.8 out of 10 in a survey.
“We need to focus on the positive … forward thinking, living in the future,” he said.”If you dwell on the past you never get to bring anything forward.”
Dyer said the biggest challenge facing the county is employee recruitment and retention.
“We need to figure out employee satisfaction, recruitment and retention,” Dyer said, adding that the lack of workforce housing contributes to the challenge. “When the average price of homes sold is $800,000, it makes it difficult to hire here.”
The new administrator called affordable house a “critical” issue for the county. However, commissioners play no direct role in addressing the issue, he said.
Leadership enhancement is also top of mind for Dyer. To this end, he plans to organize a board workshop and to adopt board goals within the first six months.
“We need to articulate where our ‘lanes’ are and agree to be accountable,” Dyer said. “… to navigate who is responsible and stay in our respective lanes.”
Dyer and his wife, Jeanette, live in Suttons Bay. They have two grown sons — Joe, who lives in Portage, Michigan and Patrick, who lives in Tel Aviv, Israel.
They also have one grandchild.
