Leelanau County Administrator Jim Dyer has been cleared of any county policy violations following a grievance complaint brought against him by one of his direct reports, Finance Director Cathy Hartesvelt. More details about the complaint and the findings are expected to be released following next week’s regular meeting of the Board of Commissioners. During an executive board session Tuesday, though, multiple board members apologized to Dyer directly for the persistent “attacks” he has faced in his first six months as administrator, and reaffirmed their support for him as the county’s leader.

Hartesvelt reportedly filed her grievance against Dyer over a dust-up that happened in the wake of the county commission's August 12 executive board meeting. According to District 1 commissioner Rick Robbins, Dyer reprimanded Hartesvelt after she made a budgeting recommendation to commissioners that conflicted with his wishes.

Robbins says the complaint stemmed from an ask by the Leelanau County Sheriff’s Office to allocate $26,000 for replacement motors for some of the department’s marine fleet. Per meeting minutes, Hartesvelt told the board that Dyer had originally asked her to “re-allocate some funds from the unspent budget of the Sheriff’s Office TNT (Traverse Narcotics Team) officer” for the motors, but she felt it was “more appropriate to entertain this request to replace the outboard motors and use the contingency account within the General Fund.”

“The TNT budget is going to roll into ’26…so I would rather leave this budget intact rather than deconstruct it,” Hartesvelt said at the meeting.

“My understanding is that [the change] upset [Dyer], and he told [Hartesvelt] that he needed to know stuff like this beforehand, and that she couldn’t just make a change in a public meeting,” Robbins tells The Ticker.

While Hartesvelt’s grievance has not been released in full, the complaint has led some members of the public to call for deeper investigation into Dyer. Speaking during public comment on Tuesday, Tim McCalley – who ran against Robbins for the District 1 board seat last fall – said commissioners were overlooking a troubling pattern of behavior.

“…Grievances are being treated as a problem of one or two disgruntled employees, when in fact multiple staff – including women across departments – have frequently described a similar pattern of intimidation, silencing, fear, and even perceived verbal abuse [from Dyer],” McCalley said.

Commissioners ultimately went into closed session with the county’s legal counsel, who conducted an investigation of Hartesvelt’s complaint. According to Robbins, the investigation “exonerated” Dyer of any wrongdoing.

Commissioners spent less than a half hour in closed session before coming back with a motion from Robbins to recommend that the board “release a statement” regarding the investigation, the attorney’s findings, and the closed session conversation. Board Chair Steve Yoder tells The Ticker the matter “will require a vote at next week’s board meeting” before such a statement sees the light of day. That regular board session is scheduled for Tuesday, October 14 at 6:30pm.

Addressing commissioners at the end of the meeting, Dyer said he tries to have a “give and take” with his direct-reports, noting “they’re of no use to me if they just agree with everything that I say.”

“But I also have said, ‘Once I make a decision, I expect you to support that when we come to the board and we give them what my recommendation is,’” Dyer added. “Because it’s my responsibility. I’m the one that does report to you [the board]. My point has always been: once a decision is made in a private meeting, we all need to support that before the board. And when that doesn’t happen, there are potential consequences. That’s what this thing has been all about, in my opinion.”

Multiple board members used the “commissioner comment” period at the end of the meeting to apologize to Dyer for the controversies he has weathered since coming aboard at the end of March. Dyer had also drawn criticisms for seeking a seat on the Cherryland Electric board of directors, a move some saw as a conflict of interest.

“I’m appalled at this steady persistence of attacks from a particular group of people, and I don’t understand what’s feeding that,” said District 6 commissioner Gwenne Allgaier. “For four or five years, there’s just been this undercurrent in our county that undercuts everything… It is not helpful, it holds us back, it keeps us going in circles, and I kind of wish people would grow up and move forward.”

“I think you’re one hell of an administrator,” Robbins told Dyer. “You’re doing a great job. You’ve only been here, what, 5-6 months? Seems like every month, somebody’s picking at you. Somebody in this building or somewhere in this community, they like seeing you ending up with the fuzzy end of the lollipop stick. It’s time that we move forward and let you do your job, and get some of the stuff accomplished up here that needs to be accomplished.”