Tensions flared among Grand Traverse County commissioners at a Wednesday night board meeting as discussion about a potential county financial analysis devolved into a verbal lashing of Commissioner Addison “Sonny” Wheelock. Wheelock – who was appointed last week to a board committee with Commissioners Christine Maxbauer and Carol Crawford to explore hiring a firm to review the county’s finances – questioned why the two commissioners met with a county auditor and a Municipal Employees' Retirement System (MERS) representative without him.

“I was surprised and disappointed…that Commissioners Maxbauer and Crawford saw fit to meet this morning to discuss our financial liabilities…without my being made aware of that meeting,” Wheelock said. “I don’t quite understand how we got here.”

Maxbauer and Crawford denied the meeting was related to the financial analysis, saying instead that they had been requesting audit balance statements and discussing the county’s pension fund liability. “It was not a surreptitious thing,” Crawford said. “(The meeting) in no way was presented as being about the financial analysis.”

Commissioner Bob Johnson then interjected, saying he was “tired of (Wheelock’s) bull in the china cabinet” attitude. “You already cost me a lot of money with an attorney because you had your head up your butt over the other stuff, and you’re continuing it now,” Johnson said, referring to the criminal Open Meetings Act (OMA) complaint Wheelock filed against fellow board members in April. “I personally think you should resign from this committee so we can move forward and get the stuff that you messed up in this county for years straightened out.”

Commissioner Alisa Kroupa also criticized Wheelock for speaking to the media before first speaking to commissioners about his concerns. “You are perpetually playing the role of the martyr,” she said. “You’ve caused undue damage to our personal reputations and for me, my business reputation…you are coerced and manipulated and played by the media.” Kroupa, who called Wheelock “the chump of the board,” also complained about having to “pay for a babysitter today to watch my kids so I could go to a state police criminal investigation” and told Wheelock she looked forward to handing him her “criminal lawyer’s bill.”

“I don’t want to hear your response…I want to hear an apology,” Kroupa said. She wrapped up her remarks by saying: “You can join us and apologize and be a part of this team, or we will continue this.” Both Crawford and Commissioner Dan Lathrop also stated that they found Wheelock’s OMA complaint “unconscionable.”

Wheelock told commissioners they were “not going to get” an apology and that he had followed a process recommended to him by Grand Traverse County Prosecuting Attorney Bob Cooney. He also said he had “never named any individual commissioners” in his OMA complaint and said Cooney and state police had advised him not to withdraw his complaint.

Shortly after the heated discussion, commissioners agreed to a suggestion by County Finance Director Dean Bott to delay a final agenda item – a scheduled review of invoices from HR consultant Paula Sagala – until next Wednesday. Bott told The Ticker he recommended the delay because “in my opinion, we were not being very nice to each other.” Despite meeting tensions, Wheelock, Maxbauer and Crawford agreed Wednesday to convene for a first committee meeting July 14 to review the potential county financial analysis.

Commissioners also unanimously agreed Wednesday night to hire retiring Bay Area Transportation Authority (BATA) Executive Director Tom Menzel for $1 per month. Menzel has offered to provide what amounts to volunteer consulting services to assist the county in preparing for its upcoming results-based budgeting process, as well as the hiring of a new county administrator.