Schor looks past checkered past in hiring Lansing’s new city treasurer

Desiree Kirkland may have brought some baggage with her to the capital city, but Lansing Mayor Andy Schor is confident that his latest pick for city treasurer will exceed all expectations.

Kirkland, who was appointed in late September as the third treasurer in Schor’s administration — was fired last year from her deputy treasurer job in Wayne County. In 2017, she quit a similar role in Ingham County after facing criticism over botched financial filings.

But despite the checkered employment history, Kirkland “excelled” in a job interview, Schor said.

“Desiree is extremely qualified to serve the city of Lansing as its treasurer,” Schor said Tuesday. “We spoke with officials who worked at the county with her and she received very positive reviews. Her credentials and references were all reviewed prior to hiring her. I am very confident that she will continue to be a great city treasurer.”

After leaving a grant accounting job at the Michigan Department of Community Health and Services, Kirkland was hired as chief deputy treasurer in Ingham County, a position she held from 2013 to 2017 before she quit to take a similar job at the Wayne County Treasurer’s Office.

Kirkland reportedly first learned that Ingham County officials wanted her gone at a Board of Commissioners’ meeting at which Treasurer Eric Schertzing said she “was not up to the task.” Schertzing’s office, at the time, was taking heat for an audit that found discrepancies between treasury reports and the county’s general ledger. Auditors later billed $51,000 to fix the books.

“I can tell you that accounting is complex, and those complexities sometimes play out in the public eye,” Kirkland explained. “I worked very closely to resolve those issues, but, unfortunately, they’re often played out in the public. At the end of the day, there were no missing funds.”

Kirkland left the position voluntarily, but Schertzing still offered mixed reviews this week.

“There were things that needed to have been done better that were not getting done better. Rather than sort it out, she decided to move on,” Schertzing said this week. “I think she would’ve been more successful in her role with the county had she only applied herself.”

An initial complaint by Kirkland (and her attorney, Teresa Bingman, whom Schor appointed last summer as coordinator of the administration’s efforts to improve racial and social equity in Lansing) that ultimately never developed into a lawsuit at the time suggested that complaints against Kirkland could have been racially motivated. Officials said this week that once-generous severance packages that had previously been extended to white men were not afforded to Kirkland before she left.

“I was able to move on and continue service in my community,” Kirkland explained this week.

After leaving Ingham County in 2017, Kirkland took another deputy treasurer job in Wayne County — and she was fired less than two years later last August, reports The Detroit News.

Wayne County officials didn’t offer a public explanation for Kirkland’s firing. In an interview this week, Kirkland also refused to shed much light on the situation.

“As we know, public servants in these political positions are at-will employees. It’s a risk that we all take in those types of government jobs. We recognize that they’re not always long-term positions,” Kirkland said, noting that her departure had nothing to do with poor job performance.

“I have a good professional track record,” Kirkland insisted.

Kirkland is the latest to enter the revolving door of the Schor administration. After $2.5 million in federal fines were assessed (and later forgiven) against the city for botched financial filings to the IRS, longtime Finance Director Angie Bennett announced her resignation last September.

Bennett’s duties, in the meantime, were filled by former chief strategy officer Shelbi Frayer, who quit in July after less than a year with the city. Frayer was then replaced by former Treasurer Judy Kehler, who now serves as chief strategy officer and was replaced by Kirkland.

After leaving Wayne County, Kirkland took a job as assistant treasurer for Barton Hill Village in Ann Arbor. She said the unsolicited opportunity to return to Lansing, where she has lived for the last 30 years and raised four children, was one that she simply couldn’t afford to pass up.

Kirkland earns $98,000 annually in Lansing, down from $133,000 in Wayne County.

“I’m a public servant. I’ve been in Lansing for 30-plus years and I’ve raised my family here. All four of my sons graduated from high school here. I’m tied to this community and I’m actively involved in this community,” Kirkland added. “It was just a good opportunity and a perfect fit.”