OTTAWA COUNTY — Did the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners violate point out regulation on Tuesday? The Michigan Lawyer General’s Office environment intends to discover out, saying Wednesday it will reviewing a flurry of steps the board took through its very first official assembly of 2023.
Extra:Ottawa Effect campaigned on transparency. In their 1st assembly, they blindsided the group.
More:Ottawa County Board abruptly fires administrator, hires former GOP candidate John Gibbs
Just after getting sworn in Tuesday, Jan. 3, the board:
- Fired administrator John Shay and replaced him with previous GOP candidate John Gibbs without conducting a general public job interview
- Removed the county’s Diversity, Fairness and Inclusion Office environment
- Selected a new wellness director to swap the previously-named successor to Lisa Stefanovsky, whose appointment had been permitted by the condition
- Changed the county’s counsel
- Transformed the county’s vision statement
The moves are envisioned to value Ottawa County taxpayers at the very least $300,000 in severance demands — and are perhaps violations of Michigan’s Open Conferences Act.
The board has 8 new commissioners backed by Ottawa Influence, a Jenison-dependent political advocacy team fashioned in 2021 by mother and father and people crucial of point out and neighborhood government’s reaction to containing the distribute of the novel coronavirus. The group opposes masking mandates, employee vaccine mandates, educational institutions instructing critical race principle and the justification for advertising range, fairness and inclusion.
Extra:Amid in-battling, censures: What is the potential for Ottawa County conservatism?
Ottawa Influence demanded its candidates to indication a pledge in get to make the group’s endorsement. Although not legally binding, the deal demanded candidates pledge their votes to reach the group’s aims.
“The Office of Legal professional Basic is conducting an substantial critique into the actions of the Ottawa County Commission’s (assembly) and will make our findings community upon completion,” a spokesperson reported in a assertion Wednesday.
Whilst the assertion didn’t outright accuse commissioners of violating Open up Conferences Act, it is really distinct the new electees backed by Ottawa Impact met or communicated prior to being sworn into business office to strategy the choices manufactured Tuesday.
Government officers of public bodies are required to follow Michigan’s Open up Conferences Act — less than which they need to conduct community conferences if a quorum (the minimum amount amount of voting customers) of the board is existing.
“AG Dana Nessel is fully commited to defending the Open Conferences Act and acknowledges the significance of making certain that the people’s small business permits inhabitants to participate in their federal government and that local and county governments operate in accordance with the established law,” the statement read.
Ottawa Impact’s electees, who ran on the assure of transparency, have thus far selected their board chair before becoming sworn in, additional agenda merchandise with out warning in the course of Tuesday’s conference, improved board procedures at the very last moment to clear the route for their agenda and even blindsided customers of their possess group.
Electee Rebekah Curran said she was “completely blindsided” by the selection to replacement the county administrator and believed Shay deserved a prospect to operate with the board.
“I arrived to you (Moss) and precisely questioned if this was likely to occur right now and I was very a great deal informed no,” Curran explained. “I’ve been absolutely blindsided by this this early morning. When I imagine John Gibbs is a wonderful applicant and is very overqualified, I felt that it was prudent to at the very least give (Shay) the profit of the question to demonstrate if he was heading to be ready to work with the board or not.”
The AG’s Workplace did not say how long its evaluation would consider. If the investigation finds the commissioners violated the Open up Meetings Act, it would very likely nullify all decisions produced at the Jan. 3 meeting.
The board would be ready to re-enact the decisions in conformity with OMA’s needs and, if the reenactment ended up completed appropriately, it could not deal with extra OMA authorized problems.
While Michigan’s transparency legislation are thought of some of the weakest in the country, there are prison penalties for public officers who intentionally flout OMA needs. The 1st time a general public official deliberately violates OMA, he or she can be billed with a criminal misdemeanor and punished by a utmost good of $1,000.
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For a next offense inside the identical expression of business, he or she can be billed with a misdemeanor and fined up to $2,000 and/or jailed for a utmost of 1 calendar year.
A general public official who deliberately violates the act is also individually liable for actual and exemplary damages up to $500, plus court docket costs and attorney fees.
Tuesday’s assembly sparked public assist and outrage.
On Tuesday, the Ottawa County Clerk’s Office environment verified it experienced received a number of inquires about how the remember petition method functions.
On the other hand, Michigan legislation states any formal serving a two-calendar year expression simply cannot be recalled in their 1st or very last six months of their term. The earliest attainable day for a remember petition would be July 3. If and when remember language is approved by the clerk’s business office, the petition must acquire signatures from 25 % of registered voters in every commissioner’s jurisdiction.
At that position, a unique election would be scheduled.
— Sentinel reporter Mitchell Boatman and Wood Tv-8 contributed to this report.