New COA director accepts offer

Feb. 20--TRAVERSE CITY -- A reassembling Grand Traverse County Commission on Aging soon will have a new leader at the helm.

A Traverse City candidate accepted a county offer Feb. 13 to become the COA's next director, according to the county's Deputy Administrator Jen DeHaan. She said the identity of the new director will be revealed in the coming weeks and expressed confidence in the pick.

"One of the benefits of starting this position now is there is full support from the board (of commissioners) and county administration to succeed in making changes and moving forward," DeHaan said. "That's one of the best things that can benefit the clients and the employees at the COA."

The new director will earn an annual $66,385 salary and will be tasked with leading COA operations while it transitions and acts on a number of recommendations a quality assessment panel made after discovering a host of commission deficiencies with technology, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliance, and training, DeHaan said.

Commissioners at a Feb. 8 study session supported working internally to resolve the issues, rather than contracting with outside companies for assistance. The new director likely will lead the effort.

County officials began searching for a new director in November, posting the opening on the county's website and elsewhere. DeHaan did not immediately know how many people applied, but said officials screened each candidate, conducted phone interviews and met with each candidate for another interview. A background check and review process followed.

Commissioner Tom Mair hopes the new director will quickly take the lead and run the operations without the county control posed over the past several months.

"It will give the commission on aging the leadership it deserves," he said. "I don't know anything about the candidate, but I'm glad that it's coming about. It's not for (the county) to be running the COA."

DeHaan confirmed the new director is not currently a county employee.

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