The current status of Benzie County

After years of poor public opinion, the Benzie County Board of Commissioners got a face lift in the November election. Before this, there was much disappointment of how the operations of the county were handled.

Many in the trades were upset with the way the building department had been run. Suspicion arose around action taken by department head Steve Haugen. Even a committee was formed by Commissioner Tom Kelley and myself. Although both of us returned to the Board with reports which including some damning evidence that showed that the county should go in a different direction, nothing came about. In my last motion on the Board, I moved to let Haugen go, but there was no support and it died.

The zoning and planning departments have had more conflict of the last several years. Planner Dave Neiger became the head of both departments after the part time zoning administrator died. However, he was unable to do both jobs. The county then hired a full time zoning administrator, Craig Seger, at about $56,500 per year (at this time Neiger was making about $40,000 a year). Seger also took on soil/erosion permits, which the land conservancy had handled in the past.

At the end of the budget cycle in September, there was effort to get rid of Neiger as planner and replace him with $15,000 for consulting fees. The action was about to be done without the knowledge of the Planning Commission. However, Commissioner Mary Pitcher was on both the Planning Commission and the budget committee, but she did not inform the former of the latter's intent. This caused much outcry from the Planning Commission and county residents. Stories of conspiracy between a couple of the commissioners, county administrator Chuck Clarke and Seger to get rid of Neiger kept popping up. It even caused the Planning Commission to give votes of "no confidence" to the Planning Commission chair and Pitcher. Accusations of nonfeasance, malfeasance and misfeasance were made against Pitcher by Planning Commissioner Don Tanner. This brought on a series of agreements to keep him another month, then another month until in December they decided to keep him through the rest of the fiscal year (September 31).

Then the new Board got sworn in. In their organizational meeting, they passed a motion to fire Seger and turn the part time job over to Neiger until a replacement can be hired.

It is almost certain that this will not be the last firing in the near future, but it is unclear who is next to go. There is a good possibility that Clarke will be next. Tanner, who is now the new chair of the Board of Commissioners, campaigned on getting rid of Clarke. There seems to be at least three and maybe four others that might back that motion if it ever comes. Time will only tell.