An investigation was requested into Undersheriff James Kiessel credit card that has turned messy over the past couple of weeks.
Leelanau County Commissioner Rick Robbins called for an investigation into the credit card of Leelanau County Undersheriff James Kiessel and the subsequent failures that resulted in a late payment and a ding on his personal credit score.
Robbins left the meeting after the break around 11 a.m. and the topic was addressed later in the meeting without him present.
Robbins told board chair Steve Yoder he will submit a RFP or memorandum seeking the investigation.
His main grievance is that he was told it was resolved on a particular date and that was not the case, according to him.
Interim Administrator Lauren Cypher said during the meeting the official transfer of Kiessel’s credit card to the umbrella of Leelanau County has been completed. This comes as Cypher mentioned the department is going after the general structure of credit cards used under the county’s name.
“We moved the undersheriff credit card under the umbrella of Leelanau County, which would improve access to the finance department and have it underwritten or finance with county’s tax id number and not the person,” Cypher said.
Cypher mentioned that the department is going after a “commercial card program” that will try to be in front of the board by September.
Leelanau County Finance Department and Administration executed a swift and comprehensive review of credit card accounts and documentation processes which was presented to the Board of Commissioners July 14 and July 21, revisited again in further detail at the August 11 Executive Session, with final resolution and a Commercial Card program to be presented in September. All relevant financial documentation has been compiled and provided transparently to the Board of Commissioners. Commissioner Robbins is within his rights as an elected official to request further review and Administration and Finance are happy to comply,” Cypher said after an additional request for comment.
In the month of July, Leelanau County booked nearly 900 hours of vacation hours for employees.
An error occurred, and the county was overpaid a total of 886 hours that costed roughly $30,000.
“We will always be quick to put it out there and remedy it,” Cypher said.
Accrual of vacation time racks up and with three pay periods in the month of July led to confusion for one employee.
“Once a month there’s an accrual for the 24/7 operations (employees) and it manually needs to be removed and that had not been removed,’ Cypher said.
Finance Director Rio Risbridger said the department is adding an additional review process.
