Credit Card Media Release

July 25, 2026
Informational Release
Leelanau County Credit Card Usage

To: Media Outlets and Residents

Discussions were held at the July 21 meeting of the Leelanau County Board of Commissioners about credit card usage by county employees, as well as payments. As the topic was not an agenda item, pertinent information was not included in the meeting packet available to constituents and news reporters.

As a follow-up to those discussions, I am providing information that may have been lacking during the discussions, as well as updates that have occurred since. As always, I remain open to answering questions about county business at your convenience in my role as interim administrator. One of my goals is to be a conduit for information to county residents.

The discussions and media accounts that followed can be separated into three generalized topics.

Credit Card Late Payment

On behalf of Undersheriff James Kiessel

Details as to how this late payment occurred are included in an email I sent to commissioners and other involved parties. The email is included with this release as an attachment.

To summarize, Undersheriff Kiessel submitted the credit card statement for payment, along with supporting receipts, on June 9, the morning that Administrator James Dyer was placed on administrative leave. Unintentionally, the statement was not placed among others for payment authorization required by the Board of Commissioners, delaying payment for one month.

The mistake was discovered by the Undersheriff when the next statement arrived, after which we met several times to log into the account and discuss other ramifications.

For reasons I am unaware of, the card, when issued in August 2023, was placed in an account separate from other County credit cards with Elan Financial. The Finance Department lacked login information.

Blame for the mistake is accepted by the Finance Department, which in turn means it is mine as well. I have apologized personally to Jim, and we will send a letter to Elan Financial to determine if any negative credit rating would arise and be linked to the Kiessel family or Leelanau County. Should that be the case, we will request its removal.

We all agree this should not have happened.

Reconciling Administrator Dyer’s Credit Card

The County was informed on July 17 that usage of the credit card issued to Administrator James Dyer had been revoked.

I soon learned that the account had not been properly reconciled for many months and was not being managed according to County policy. Some charges were paid and others were not, but the biggest challenge was verifying purchases made on the card.

Receipts had not been filed. Many hours were spent by County staff to match credit card usage with County policy and accounting procedures.

A more detailed explanation for the many entries on late claims and accounts authorized for payment on Tuesday evening is also included in the aforementioned email report to commissioners.

The card has been restored to active status.

Changes Needed to Avoid Future Problems

Several commissioners, led by Chairman Steve Yoder, have requested that our credit card policy be placed on the agenda for our Executive Committee meeting set for Tuesday, August 11.

One common concern regards whether credit cards issued by the County include personal information about cardholders. Also concerning was having a credit card issued by the County go unreconciled for several months.