Grand Traverse County commissioners today (Wednesday) will review survey results on County Administrator Nate Alger’s performance as part of his annual review. Commissioners will also consider a request from Pine Rest to fund youth treatment using county marijuana tax revenues.

Administrator Review
County Administrator Nate Alger appears to have bipartisan support among commissioners for his performance, with the majority saying he meets or exceeds expectations in all categories in a newly completed board survey. Commissioners flagged a few areas of potential improvement in the survey – which will be combined with an anonymous survey of Alger’s direct staff to inform his 2024 review – including information sharing and strategic planning with the board.

Among the areas in which commissioners rated Alger mostly highly are his working relationships with board members, professionalism and leadership style, financial oversight, and preventative problem-solving. “Nate meets regularly with commissioners and has an open-door policy that provides constant continuity of board direction,” wrote Chair Rob Hentschel. Commissioner Ashlea Walter found Alger “to be an effective and honorable community leader (who) demonstrates overall positive leadership skills and acumen in my personal interactions.”

Commissioner Penny Morris said Alger does an “excellent job of keeping the board informed of the county’s financial situation, both positive and negative, as well as of future projections.” Commissioner Scott Sieffert credited the county’s healthy financial standing largely “to the role Nate Alger has played and his teambuilding skills.” Commissioner Lauren Flynn said Alger “understands his role and responsibility well” and has helped ensure she as a commissioner has the tools needed “to serve the constituents of Grand Traverse County.” Commissioner Darryl Nelson concluded: “The administrator does an excellent job of interacting with the board, he predicts and plans for coming issues, he is not afraid to make bold moves when appropriate. I think Nate Alger is an asset to this community, and we are fortunate to have him serving in this role.”

Commissioners of both parties highlighted some areas of potential improvement. Both Flynn and Walter said information is sometimes shared with the media before it’s communicated to elected officials, while Sieffert wanted to see more follow-up or follow-through on certain issues, saying he sometimes feels like he’s “only getting 85 percent of the information.” Some commissioners questioned the usefulness of the county’s recent strategic planning sessions and wished there was a clearer shared strategy between the board and administration.

Though the anonymous staff survey responses were not shared publicly, commissioners did review them and reacted in their own comments. “I think there is mixed reception to (Alger’s) leadership with county departments, and I'm not in a great position to fully understand the challenges yet, but given the surveys and some who did not want to take the survey, there is room for improvement,” Walter wrote. Commissioner Brad Jewett said he could only put “meets expectations” for staff management because he wasn’t “there on a daily basis to see firsthand” Alger’s interactions with employees. 

Alger, who has served as county administrator since 2018, says he took the feedback as a “very positive review” overall, with opportunities to improve. As the bar for performance in different categories – like information sharing – varies among the nine commissioners, Alger says he looks forward to having more one-on-one conversations to clarify feedback. “That bar changes depending on each commissioner, so it’s incumbent on me to have relationships with commissioners and know where that threshold will be,” he says. Alger’s current salary is $193,850 plus a $500 monthly vehicle allowance. His contract states that if he has a “meet-or-exceeds-expectations” performance review, as he did this year, he will receive a five percent wage increase effective July 1.

Pine Rest Funding
Commissioners today will hear a funding request from mental health clinic Pine Rest for youth treatment services from the county’s marijuana tax revenues – what could be the first of many such requests from community groups until the county establishes a clear policy for how those revenues will be used.

A specific dollar amount was not listed for Pine Request’s request, but Alger says he anticipates it will be a “significant” ask – over $400,000, he estimates. As reported by The Ticker in March, Grand Traverse County is in line to receive $886,295.25 in marijuana tax dollars this year.

Presentation materials shared by Pine Rest indicate the organization serves a broad range of clients – not just limited to Medicaid patients, specific referral sources, or population or problem-specific criteria – and serves ages two to 100. Organizational challenges include low reimbursement for behavioral health, costs incurred for proving broad access in a rural region, and local cost of living. “Most organizations do not flourish in our community without additional support from the community,” the presentation notes.

Commissioners have had some discussions about how to allocate marijuana tax revenues – like an idea floated last month to use the money to repair potholes – but “haven’t landed on what our position is going to be for use of these dollars,” Alger says. He says there appears to be “some difference of opinion” among commissioners about the best way to spend the revenues, with a consensus required at some point to actually use the funds.