Former Leelanau Finance Clerk Blasts County Administrator For Fostering 'Toxic Environment'

A former Leelanau County staffer has accused County Administrator Jim Dyer of “physical intimidation,” “administrative negligence,” and “disregard for the stability of the finance department,” among other grievances. Dyer and his human resources manager dispute the claims.

The ex-employee, Elizabeth Gray, served as a finance department account clerk and was earning public praise from Dyer as recently as last month for keeping the department afloat.

“I am writing to formally place on the record the circumstances that led to my resignation from the Leelanau County Finance Department,” Gray wrote in an exit letter dated March 9 and addressed to the county’s Board of Commissioners. “While I have transitioned to a new role, I feel a professional and civic obligation to alert the Board to a pattern of administrative negligence and physical intimidation that poses a significant liability to the County. My departure was the direct result of a toxic environment fostered by County Administrator James Dyer.”

Gray’s letter accuses Dyer of “conduct unbecoming of an administrator,” including “raising his voice – primarily with women, physically pounding his desk to intimidate staff, and admonishing subordinates both in common hallways and during public meetings.”

These behaviors, Gray claims, “escalated to a critical point on the Monday following the Finance Director's suspension,” referring to when former Finance Director Cathy Hartesvelt was placed on paid administrative leave in January. Dyer fired Hartesvelt a month later.

“I was already in a state of high anxiety, suddenly left as the only remaining employee in the department during our busiest month,” Gray wrote. “In this vulnerable position, I was confronted by the HR Manager, who sat on my filing cabinet, while Mr. Dyer stood in the doorway, physically blocking the only exit from my office to discuss the future of the department. When I requested the presence of my union steward, my request was denied on the technicality that the meeting was not disciplinary. Regardless of that designation, I was kept in a state of physical containment by two high-ranking county employees.”

Hartesvelt’s absence left Gray to “manage high-pressure year-end payroll and critical financial functions with no specific county training and no supervisor to consult,” she wrote. She alleges Dyer took “a scheduled vacation” during this period, “despite the stakes,” and “remained consistently unresponsive to urgent requests…” She further claims these conditions “forced a compromise of essential dual controls for payroll,” exacerbated because she was “actively discouraged from seeking technical aid from the County Clerk’s office.” The clerk’s office previously managed county finance functions.

“I cannot, in good conscience, lend my credentials to an administration that systematically undermines its own internal controls and basic operational responsibilities,” Gray concluded, adding she “did not feel safe raising these concerns while employed.”

Both Dyer and Leelanau County HR Manager Jennifer Kain push back against most of Gray’s claims.

“I was present at the meeting from which this accusation arose, and often sit on that file cabinet to get closer to the employees' level so as not to intimidate, but saw no problem with a supervisor and myself discussing the transition period the department faced,” Kain told The Ticker in a written statement. “Mr. Dyer was at the door, standing sideways to it, not blocking entry or exit.”

Dyer says he was “trying very hard to make [Gray’s] life as easy as I possibly could, recognizing that I had first suspended and then terminated her mentor and the person that hired her.”

“The whole reason we had that meeting in her office like that, where I stood up instead of making her come to my office and sit down in a chair across the desk from me, was because I felt that would be far more intimidating than me going to her office and trying to calm her concerns and tell her that she had nothing to worry about personally,” Dyer says.

Beyond that initial meeting, Dyer says he took numerous steps to support Gray, including giving “blanket authorization of any overtime she thought she needed,” and seeking “permission from the county board to increase her salary to the level of the assistant finance director.” In a county board meeting last month, he praised Gray for doing “a very, very good job under trying circumstances.”

Regarding Gray’s claim about being denied union representation, Dyer says county employees “are not permitted a union steward under the contract unless they are subject to discipline. And that’s what I told her – not that we denied her request, but we just made it very clear that this was not a disciplinary meeting.”

As for accusations he regularly raises his voice, admonishes employees in public, pounds the table to express frustration, or specifically targets female employees, Dyer flatly denies all.

“Frankly, if I was that much of a tyrant, I think you'd be hearing it from multiple departments and multiple people,” Dyer says. “I am confident the vast majority of the employees in this building do not share the opinion expressed in that letter.”

“There seems to be a theme that Mr. Dyer has acted intimidatingly towards his subordinates, but in all the meetings I have been with him, I have not witnessed anything inappropriate,” Kain concurred in her statement. “He treats the staff, managers, and directors of the departments that report to him – both men and women – equally. It is unfortunate that I was not able to address this directly with Ms. Gray while she worked for us. This is the type of concern I hope all of our employees would feel comfortable sharing with human resources, since I am working hard to support them, management, and the future of Leelanau County.”

Asked whether Gray’s letter will be discussed at a future county commission meeting, or if Dyer could face disciplinary action for the allegations, Board Chair Steve Yoder and Vice-Chair Mark Walter declined to comment.

“The issue is being addressed and no further comment at this time,” Walter said.

“Whether [Gray’s letter] comes up at a future meeting remains to be seen,” Yoder added.