A new 27-page report assessing the Ingham Co. Road Commission's culture is highly critical of the Commission's leadership.

The third-party study conducted by Growth Strategies Consulting incorporates interviews from 90 employees. The report says the Ingham Co. Road Commission suffers from a "culture of distrust", plays favorites and makes decisions unfairly. Employees interviewed said they viewed the behavior of Road Commission chair Shirley Rodgers unfavorably, accusing her of micromanaging the Commission.

At the top of the list of the proposed solutions was a call to change leadership within the next three months. What's not made clear in that recommendation is whether the leadership that needs to change is the Board of Road Commissioners or the Commission's management.

Ingham County Commissioner Randy Schafer told WILX he thinks the Board is at fault.

"I just don't like how the Board's been handling things the last three years," said Schafer.

Rodgers says claims of "micromanagement" are overblown or unfair and that she feels she's doing the job she was appointed to do.

"Yeah I've been criticized," said Rodgers. "Some of it I understand. Do I agree with all of it? No. But I listen to all of it."

Rodgers' job is not at stake though because as an appointed member she can't be removed except by a charge of malfeasance.

More vulnerable is the Commission's management. The Board approved a motion Tuesday to discuss "future employment opportunities" with finance director Tina Henry and operations director James Benjamin. Rodgers declined to elaborate on what that exactly means and says the Board has not made any decisions on personnel yet.