GENESEE COUNTY, MI -- Clerk-Register John Gleason says the decision to send three county government employees to the Disney Institute for training was strictly a Mickey Mouse move, and he showed Wednesday, Feb. 20, that he’s willing to dress the part to make his point.

“We had another junket on behalf of the taxpayers in Genesee County ... to Disney ... right in the middle of this tremendous cold weather when people are having a hard time keeping their homes heated,” said Gleason, dressed in a full Mickey Mouse costume, white gloves and makeup.

The clerk-register, using play money as a prop and appearing with an unidentified woman dressed as Minnie Mouse, said the approximate $26,000 spent for travel, lodging and training at Disney would have been better spent to lower fees for services in county offices and criticized the Board of Commissioners for having approved the trip when there are greater needs.

Disney Institute provides training based on best practices at Walt Disney Parks & Resorts and bills itself as a powerful agent of change for many types of organizations, teaching about leadership, engagement and customer service, according to its website.

County Board Coordinator Josh Freeman, Human Resources Director Anita Galajda, and Planning Commission Director-Coordinator Derek Bradshaw attended the training, Freeman said, and information will be shared with other employees.

Commissioners approved the trips in September and the travel occurred this month, paid for with a one-time unclaimed property reimbursement from the state.

Freeman said the expense is justified after about a decade of little spending on employee development and training, and said the county has paid previously to send employees to the Disney Institute and has paid Disney trainers to travel to the county to provide training in the past.

In addition to the travel spending, Gleason also criticized a Culture Club Volunteer Committee, a group Freeman said was set up to encourage employees from different departments to work together and improve morale.

In a news release issued by his office, Gleason called the Culture Club expense an example of misplaced priorities by county commissioners.

Asked about Gleason’s press conference costume, Freeman said he didn’t “have a reaction to how Mr. Gleason conducts himself.”

Commissioners and the clerk-register have feuded over a variety of issues for many years, and Gleason has sued the county to secure funding for his offices in the past.

In 2013, he accused commissioners of price gouging because of the amount citizens are charged for birth and death records here.

In January, he criticized commissioners for the way they conducted an organizational meeting in which they elected officers, saying he should have been in charge of the session used to elect county leaders for 2019.