By Rosemary Horvath
Herald Correspondent
[private]The Gratiot County Board of Commissioners moved swiftly last week with the hiring of a new administrator to succeed Tracey Cordes who retired from the post after nearly eight years.
Following interviews with three candidates on Tuesday, commissioners opted to stay in-house with the selection of County Finance Director Chris Oosterhoff, who is expected to ink a two-year contract next week with an annual salary of $93,500.
“The board offered me more than one year which typically is given to a new administrator,” Oosterhoff told The Herald. “Two years made me feel they have confidence in me.”
Oosterhoff became the county finance director in 2017. Prior to that, he worked 17 years at the State of
Michigan Office of the Auditor General as an audit supervisor.
Oosterhoff earned an undergraduate degree in accounting from the Eli Broad College of Business at MSU in 2001, and has since completed 80 hours of continuing education every two years in accounting.
At the county level, he overhauled and automated the business and financial processes.
Cordes had planned out retirement “carefully,” Oosterhoff said, and had prepared him for her departure. In the process, he developed an interest in the top position.
Oosterhoff intends to remain responsible for budgets and audits, “making sure finances are accurately reported,” he said.
The county currently has a $58 million budget, 42 departments, and 68 funds.
He intends to bring in new hires while promoting from within to reorganize the administrative structure of administrator and finance director.
Oosterhoff foresees adding a deputy administrator “to help carry out the day-to-day operations similar to the models in Grand Traverse and Clinton counties.
“You have to build a support staff around strengths and weaknesses of an administrator. Tracey had extensive background in human resource knowledge,” he said, admitting that area is his weakness. But finances are his strength.
Cordes’ legal background bode well as a member of the Michigan Renewable Energy Collaborative currently negotiating with Consumers Energy over a formula for depreciating taxable values of wind farms.
The group which is headed by Huron County reached a settlement last year between townships in the two counties and DTE Energy. The energy company agreed to drop its tax appeals over a formula for depreciating taxable values of wind turbines.
Pine River Township Supervisor Kevin Beeson was appointed to replace Cordes on the collaborative board. A wind farm in his township is part of the state’s largest currently.
Oosterhoff said negotiations are continuing on a weekly basis. As of last week, he didn’t know if the slot would bounce back to the county.
Oosterhoff grew up on a farm in Newark Township. His family moved from a dairy farm in Freeport when he was age eight. His father lives in Ithaca.
He and Brook Hindall married after their 1997 high school graduation. They have six children ranging in age from first grade to 11th. Brook is a para pro at Ithaca High School.
[private]