County Travel Report Reveals Staffers’ $21K Trips to Qatar, Oman and the UAE to “Foster International Trade”

by P.D. Lesko

Between Dec. 6-14, 2024, Toni Kayumi, Director of Washtenaw County’s Office of Community and Economic Development, and Andrew DeLeeuw, Deputy County Administrator, took part in Michigan’s Middle East and North Africa (MENA) trade delegation. The cost for DeLeeuw’s trip was $21,787 and the cost for Kayumi’s trip was $21,509.15. Under the County’s revised travel policy, County Commissioners were required to approve both travel expenditures, and did so. The newspaper submitted a FOIA to obtain each employee’s travel receipts.

A Dec. 12, 2024 Instagram post by the Arab American Chamber of Commerce, which led the delegation from Michigan reported, “The AACC delegation kicked off its first day in Doha, Qatar, with impactful meetings focused on strengthening Michigan’s global partnerships and promoting economic development opportunities. The day began with a productive discussion with Ambassador Timmy Davis, during which we explored opportunities for collaboration between Michigan and Qatar. The conversation was insightful and laid a strong foundation for our subsequent meetings with regional leadership. Later, the delegation visited the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), where we presented Michigan’s growing ecosystem of mid-sized businesses and highlighted the state’s untapped potential in development and innovation.”

At the Jan. 22, 2025 meeting of the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners, County Administrator Greg Dill thanked the Commissioners for approving the staffers’ travel to Qatar, Oman and the UAE. Dill highlighted the County’s “diplomatic efforts” aimed at “fostering international trade and collaboration.”

U.S. counties and other subnational entities cannot engage in international trade independently or create binding trade agreements with foreign governments. The U.S. Constitution grants this power exclusively to the federal government. Despite this fact, at the Jan. 22, 2025 meeting County Commissioners were told the travel by Kayumi and DeLeeuw represented “an opportunity to promote trade between the MENA region and Washtenaw County.”

To date, since the Dec. 2024 trips by Kayumi and DeLeeuw, Washtenaw County has received no direct foreign investments. U.S. counties may not legally receive direct foreign investments. U.S. law permits foreign companies to invest in businesses or establish new operations within a county’s geographic boundaries. No such investments have been made in Washtenaw County, and no such investments were announced during or after the MENA conference.

County’s Years-Long History of Lax Oversight of Employee Travel

In March of 2014, the Ann Arbor Independent published, “County Taxpayers Foot The Bill For County Employee Stays At Vegas Casinos, Michigan Resorts & Other Luxury Lodgings.” A week later, County Commissioners asked County Administrator Verna McDaniel to report on employee stays at Las Vegas casinos. In 2014, now County Administrator Greg Dill was one of the highly-paid county employees whose county credit card was used to pay for flights to Las Vegas, to pay for rooms at Las Vegas casinos and meals at casino buffets.

In March of 2024, the Ann Arbor Independent published “Alize Asberry Payne Slept (Ate and Ubered) Here.” The former Washtenaw County Racial Equity Officer charged $115,000 to her county-provided credit card between 2023 and 2024. The expenditures included charges for tickets to a ball for County Administrator Greg Dill, Commissioners Justin Hodge, Caroline Sanders, and Crystal Lyte, travel, luxury hotel rooms costing upwards of $600 per night, wellness retreats and workshops.

In Aug. 2024, Asberry Payne resigned her position having admitted to “poor judgement.” Nonetheless, her direct supervisor, County Administrator Greg Dill, permitted Asberry Payne to collect an additional $60,000 by approving Asberry Payne’s Family and Medical Leave Act application in May 2024.

On April 17, 2024, shortly after Alize Asberry Payne was put on paid leave, County Administrator Greg Dill presented the County Commissioners with an updated Washtenaw County’s travel policy—a policy which had not been reviewed since 2007. Dill’s proposed resolution stated, “Recently there has been much discussion regarding employee travel both internally and externally. Because of this discussion the opportunity for immediate review occurred and proposed changes have been presented for consideration. Executive leadership and department heads were provided the opportunity to review and submit feedback to the proposed changes to both policy and procedure prior to submission of the policy through the board action request process.”

Another result of the Asberry Payne travel scandal was that Washtenaw County now posts an annual “travel report,” which makes public county employee travel, including how the travel benefits the County.

According to the new travel policy adopted by the County Commissioners in April 2024, information in the travel reports now includes “dates of travel; vendor or event; reason for travel, including purpose and benefit to the county; and cost.” County employees are now limited to 24 travel days per year for conferences, and may not spend more than $5,000 a year to attend those conferences. Any spending above $5,000, or for more than 24 days of travel, must be approved by the Board of Commissioners.

The 2024 travel report revealed Kayumi and DeLeeuw travelled together to Qatar, Oman and the UAE to “represent Washtenaw County in a delegation composed of officials from across Michigan to promote strategic global partnerships, strengthen subnational diplomacy, expand global tech networks, and support cultural, educational, and workforce exchanges.” The justification for the globe-trotting from the 2024 travel report was, “To enhance Michigan and Washtenaw County’s global presence, strengthen international relationships, explore foreign direct investment opportunities, and forge long-term partnerships to boost Michigan’s global competitiveness.”

Under the auspices of the County’s April 2024 revised travel policy, department heads are now forbidden from approving their own travel (as Greg Dill permitted Alize Asberry Payne to do). However, the 2024 travel report shows that while County Administrator Greg Dill approved DeLeeuw’s trip, and Dill’s name and email appear under the heading of “supervisor,” while Dill’s name is listed as Kayumi’s supervisor, the “supervisor’s” email is Kayumi’s.

At a Nov. 2024 meeting of the Washtenaw County Commissioners, Kayumi told the members of the BOC that her trip to the Middle East was, “an opportunity for collaboration to promote economic growth in Southeast Michigan and to build relationships with not only our local counterparts, but with our connections that we will make while we’re in the Middle East, hoping to spur economy, bring jobs to the region and investments to the region as well.”

Both Kayumi and DeLeeuw were asked to identify any investment in any Washtenaw County businesses resulting from their participation in the MENA delegation. Neither has responded.