A week after the Leelanau County Board of Commissioners placed County Administrator Jim Dyer on paid administrative leave, more details have emerged about what triggered the decision. In an explosive 6,500-word complaint addressed to the county board – and obtained by The Leelanau Ticker – County Finance Director Rio Risbridger blasted Dyer and Human Resources Manager Jennifer Kain for “a pattern of conduct…that constitutes financial misconduct, circumvention of board authority, and a pattern of intimidation.” Risbridger’s letter paints a picture of a finance department in shambles and a county government ostensibly at war with itself.

“In my time here, I have repeatedly found myself the only safeguard ensuring the finance department complies with the law, generally accepted accounting standards, and county policy,” Risbridger wrote in her complaint. “Based on what I have witnessed, I do not believe these standards would be upheld by either the county administrator or the human resources manager were I not here to insist on them.”

Risbridger’s letter goes on to outline seven “primary concerns” about Dyer and Kain’s leadership. Those include “inability to facilitate operations of Leelanau County,” “determination of legal positions and withholding of information,” “departures from standard and established procedures,” “lack of transparency to the Board of Commissioners,” “inaccurate statements to the Board of Commissioners,” “operating with a clear lack of control or review,” and “repeated disparagement of former Finance Director Cathy Hartesvelt, former Assistant Finance Director Mike Birkmeier, Chief Clerk Jen Zywicki, Clerk Michelle Crocker, and Treasurer John Gallagher.”

According to the complaint, Risbridger was hired by Dyer in March as assistant finance director, but was immediately promoted because the department’s interim head – Sean Cowan – had departed before her arrival. That situation, she wrote, precluded a proper job training cycle for Risbridger, especially because Dyer allegedly wouldn't let her seek help from Zywicki or anyone in the county clerk’s office. The clerk’s office previously handled finance functions, and Zywicki was the county’s first finance director when the position was created in January 2022.

“…I knew there was no way forward without their assistance or other outside help,” Risbridger wrote of the clerk’s office, adding that she encouraged Dyer to allow Zywicki and Crocker help her get her bearings. In that conversation, she claims Dyer interrupted her, “slammed his hand on his desk, and yelled, ‘They are not going to f---ing train you,’” before apologizing for his outburst.

Risbridger’s complaint alleges an extremely adversarial relationship within Leelanau County’s government between Dyer and the clerk’s office. Dyer, Risbridger wrote, fired Hartesvelt because he thought she was conspiring with the clerk’s office to get him fired, and thinks ex-finance-clerk Elizabeth Gray was “coached by the clerk’s office” to write an exit letter that disparaged him. Per Risbridger, Dyer also repeatedly warned her not trust the clerk’s office, claiming they “would ‘keep score’ and come after me when they saw fit.”

“I believe that Jim Dyer would rather sacrifice the county's finances than have his image sacrificed by allowing County Clerk employees to step in and help obtain control over the department,” Risbridger wrote.

Without training or support, Risbridger complains she struggled to get up to speed on the county’s financial operations, but that she still discovered an “unimaginable” number of financial errors in the process. For example, she claims to have dealt with multiple “delinquent invoices,” many of which were missed because they were being sent to Hartesvelt’s old Leelanau County email address. When Risbridger asked Dyer to deactivate that email, he allegedly refused. Risbridger also asserts that Dyer talks frequently about “what he has learned in reading Cathy Hartesvelt's emails, often consisting of the fact that [she] communicated heavily with the clerk's office.”

The allegations also implicate Kain, who Risbridger alleges has improperly withheld paychecks or insurance cards from employees, mistakenly overpaid wages, conspired with Dyer to approve a severance package for a terminated employee without board approval, and berated finance department clerks to “f---ing figure it out” when issues arose with payroll. Risbridger’s letter also reveals that Bridgette Weller, a former account clerk, has filed a civil liberties complaint against Kain, but is speculative about the details.

Dyer could not be reached for comment on Risbridger’s letter. Kain submitted the following written statement to The Ticker in response:

“During the first few months that Ms. Risbridger worked for Leelanau County, we were recovering from a severe short-staffing. Many roles and responsibilities that would not normally reside in HR were tasked to me by the Administrator. I did my best to keep payroll on schedule with the help of many other County employees. The allegations directed toward me seem to be misunderstandings that were either corrected or the intent of the conversations were not received. I continue to be dedicated to my role to provide efficient services to the employees of the county.”

Despite her complaint, Risbridger still expressed interest in retaining the finance director position and working to “end the five-year saga” of difficulties in the finance department.

“I want to dedicate my career to the success of this department,” Risbridger wrote. “I am striving for the finance department's success, and I am asking the Board of Commissioners to provide me with the tools I need for that success, something that has not been and will not be provided by the current county administrator or human resource manager.”

During public comment at Tuesday’s board meeting, Jim White, chair of the Leelanau County Republican Party, joined Risbridger in calling for Dyer’s removal.

“If you keep this man in place, you will continue to consume time, money, and efficiency to the detriment of this county and your constituents,” White told the board.

County Sheriff Mike Borkovich, on the other hand, spoke in support of Dyer, urging the board to reinstate the administrator “ASAP.” Borkovich praised Dyer as a “valuable asset” who has been “very helpful and professional in all of the contacts he has had with our Leelanau County Sheriff’s Office personnel.”

The Board of Commissioners didn’t directly address Risbridger’s complaint during Tuesday’s meeting, though they did approve a $4,214.50-per-pay-period salary for interim administrator Lauren Cypher, through August 18.