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CASSOPOLIS — Cass County Commissioners are a step closer to choosing a new county administrator after interviews with three applicants Thursday. 

The position has been vacant since Matthew Newton resigned late last year and Finance Director Jennifer Rentfrow has been serving as the interim administrator.

      Commissioners voted at the end of Thursday’s interviews to bring back two of the applicants for a second round of interviews. The second round of interviews will be May 15 in the county courthouse. There will be a meet and greet for each candidate and interviews at 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.

      The three applicants interviewed Thursday were Michael Belsky, Kipling Belcher and Patrick Jordan. Each was asked to talk about their background and experience and answer questions on things like leadership, the role of the county administrator and their experience with budgets and grant writing.

Belsky said he considers himself a Michigander as he has a family home in New Buffalo even though most of his career has been in Illinois. He served as an elected official in Illinois and worked there in the finance and municipal bond industry.

      “What I can bring is a great deal of management experience,” he said. “My style is very bottoms up, I work with those in the different departments to understand what the needs are and how I can make the work better for everyone.”

      He praised the county for its strong financial standing. 

“There is a lot of good going on here,” he said. “What I would like to do on day one is meet with the board and go over the strategic plan. It’s also important to go to each department and spend a day and do some of the work.”

Jordan told commissioners that he was a business owner and chef before going into public service when he was 38. He has a degree in public administration and served as the Muskegon Township supervisor before moving to Texas and then Alaska. He and his wife moved back to Michigan in 2015 and he was most recently the Ionia County administrator.

      “The most important job of a county administrator is to see that your directives are carried out and disseminate your directives to the staff,” he said. “The most important job of local government is the health, safety and welfare of the people.”

      “In the first 90 days, I would pour myself into the budget,” he added. “I want to get to know you, the staff and elected officials and start to build networks in the community with stakeholders … I believe in direct communication with phone calls and face to face. They are the best way and I will give written reports on a regular basis.”

      The third candidate, Kipling Belcher, has had a long career with the Michigan State Police, most recently in an administrative capacity before his retirement.

      Commissioners talked about the three candidates at the conclusion of the interviews and debated the way forward. Individual commissioners spoke in favor of and against the various candidates before agreeing to move forward with asking Belsky and Jordan back for second round interviews.