Since Leelanau County created a new finance director position in October 2021, three different people have held and then quickly departed from that role. On Tuesday, the county officially announced the fourth person to step into the position: long-time county employee Catherine Hartesvelt, who will serve as finance director in an interim capacity until a permanent replacement is hired.

Hartesvelt brings “extensive experience…having worked in payroll processing as a member of the clerk’s office,” per a press release issued Tuesday by the county. Hartesvelt will receive support from both the treasurer’s office, the county clerk’s office, and from county administrative offices throughout her stint in the job.

In October 2021, the Leelanau County Board of Commissioners voted 4-3 in favor of a resolution “authorizing the creation and hiring of a human resources director and finance director positions reporting to the county administrator.” The county’s finance, payroll, and human resource duties had previously been executed by the office of County Clerk Michelle Crocker. The transition to the new structure has proved fraught, both in terms of the county finding someone qualified to serve as finance director and in terms of getting that person the necessary training to do the job effectively.

County Administrator Deb Allen, who started that job on December 5, previously told the Leelanau Ticker that figuring out a solution for the finance director situation was going to be “the top priority” during her first weeks on the job. Allen took office a just a few days after Jared Prince, the most recent person to hold the finance director job, submitted his resignation.

In yesterday's press release from the county, Allen said that the timing of the finance director transition had proved “admittedly challenging,” but that she was “extremely grateful” to have Hartesvelt in the role, as well as to have a “unified effort” from other county offices “in addressing this important position at a time of critical need for end-of-year reporting of the county finances.”