WASHTENAW COUNTY, MI — A top Washtenaw County official who was placed on unpaid leave amid an investigation into her travel expenses has resigned.
County Racial Equity Commissioner Alize Asberry Payne has resigned effective Friday, Aug. 16, County Administrator Gregory Dill confirmed.
“I accepted her resignation and she is continuing,” Dill said.
There is a separation agreement with Asberry Payne, but Dill declined to make it public.
Payne referred a request for comment to her attorney, Robert Burton-Harris. He confirmed on Tuesday, August 27, that she had resigned from the district and declined further comment.
Earlier this year, it was revealed that Payne had spent thousands of dollars on travel using her county-issued credit card.
“We reviewed all of their travel expenses,” Dill said. “And I was satisfied that while the verdict was not the best, there was no major violation of policy.”
Records obtained by MLive/The Ann Arbor News through a Freedom of Information Act request show that Asberry Payne applied for leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act and it was approved beginning May 3.
She was granted 450 hours of leave under her FMLA request, and records show she was able to use 404 hours of paid vacation and sick leave.
Eleven days after his vacation request, MLive/The Ann Arbor News reported that Asberry Payne spent at least 80 days traveling to conferences and events in 2022 and 2023. Records show those trips included visits to Germany, a wellness retreat on the Caribbean coast and several stays at four- and five-star hotels costing more than $600 a night.
“She didn’t violate the guidelines per se,” Dill said.
“I believe she exercised poor judgment in her choice of professional development options. There are probably better alternatives than the ones she chose. International travel is not in itself a violation of county policy.”
Asberry Payne was hired in 2019 to lead the county’s newly created Racial Equity Office, and travel records show he sought training and conference opportunities across the country.
MLive/The Ann Arbor News reviewed Mastercard bank statements dating back more than two years and hundreds of pages of receipts related to Asberry Payne’s expenses, all obtained through FOIA requests.
The trips were for professional conferences or meetings, many of which were directly related to Asberry Payne’s responsibilities, and focused on addressing racial and socioeconomic inequalities within the county government, the records show.
In early August, the County Board of Supervisors changed the county’s employee travel policy to provide greater transparency on county employee spending. It also introduced caps on employee travel and the amount of money available for those tasks.
While Asberry Payne was on vacation, the responsibilities of the Racial Equity Office were divided among Dill and other county employees.
“We’re probably going to make some decisions,” he said. “There’s no opening yet. The ink has only just dried on her resignation letter.”
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