Commissioner Zylstra
@OCCommZylstra
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Ottawa County Commissioner - District 3 Holland 616 443-4281
Holland, MI
Joined December 2018
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State law MCL 44.11(n) is very clear on our powers regarding removal of health officer. We cannot remove our current officer absent serious malfeasance, which no one has alleged. Therefore, there is no vacancy for a new hire, regardless of qualifications.
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I was extremely disappointed in the events of today’s meeting. The firing of four key County employees and the manner in which it took place will unfortunately have long lasting repurcussions here in Ottawa County. More 👇
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I am very excited to have Chris join us on the board. His knowledge and common sense will be of deep value to us and I believe to all county residents who look to the Board to provide the high quality County services that Ottawa County has long been known for.
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"I voted no on this budget because, in a time of solid revenue growth, the idea that we would be defunding public health by more than four million dollars is a disservice to current residents who count on those services and an unnecessary disinvestment that, if not remedied, will
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My comments to Holland City Council this past Wednesday regarding our January 3 Ottawa County Commissioners Board Meeting:
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We as a Board are failing in our role as leaders if our employees live in a state of fear and confusion. We can and must do better going forward communìcating with actions our respect and appreciation for their work.
Continued failure at this shows not only a lack of respect
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“In the end, Ottawa County residents should expect the protection of law, and when there is a hearing for the removal of the Ottawa County Health Director, they should expect that one of the basic tenets of legal protections, the burden of proof, is respected by Counsel that
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Holland PRIDE Festival today from 12-5pm in Centennial Park. I’ll be at Booth
#3
near 10th and Central. Look forward to seeing you there!
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The proposed budget for Public Health barely meets the most minimum level of care and will bring worse outcomes across an unfortunately large number of department functions. Please plan on attending next Tuesday’s Public Hearing to voice your thoughts.
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At this past Monday’s Budget Work Session, Board Chairman Joe Moss proposed the idea of drastic cuts to the Ottawa County Public Health Department. Over the last days, the Health Department has worked diligently to explain to the Ottawa community the meaning and the
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At Tuesdays Board Meeting, we will be asked to vote on a Resolution to censure and remove Commissioner Bonnema from all committee assignments for his HR complaint against Administrator Gibbs.
This Resolution is both an audacious attempt to squelch freedom of speech and
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I am disappointed that my two motions to amend the Public Health Department’s FY24 budget failed. I believe we owe it to Ottawa County residents to properly fund the programs that they want and expect from us. We can and should do better.
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This story is an eloquent reminder of how we’ve gotten to where we are as a Board and as a community. We have so many resources in this community, but so much of it is built on trust and a sense of responsibility and caring for our neighbors.
This Tuesday, absent court
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Over the last week, there have been many reports around what may or may not have happened at last Friday’s Evidentiary Hearing. As a non-participant, I do not know what happened either inside the courtroom. But one thing that has stood out is the relief from many parts that Judge
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Stop by Juneteenth celebrations all day at Kollen Park. I’ll be here until five..
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Let’s keeping working towards a better future for all here in Ottawa County. Happy Labor Day!
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“Charge four is, in many senses, the key argument among the four that Counsel has put forward to attempt to show that Director Hambley is “Incompetent, engaged in misconduct and habitual or willful neglect of duty,” and the fact that is such a weak argument, relying on the
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Absent this requested stay, moving forward on a Special Meeting under MCL 46.11(n) with the charges outlined would be an abuse of and essentially neuter the Just Cause provisions of that clause. If a Board of Commissioners can remove a Health Officer for the sole reason of
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Patrick Waterman has been an exemplar of professionalism and dedication to the staff and residents of Ottawa County. I am saddened to see him leave and likewise to read his reasons for leaving. Hopefully this letter serves as a call for us to examine our work as County leaders
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"I was disappointed that my motion to offer a substitute amendment to the Constitutional County Resolution failed. I believe it would have accomplished our stated goal of demonstrating the Board’s commitment to ensuring that Ottawa County is a place where Constitutional freedoms
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I was disappointed that my motion to reopen the bid process for legal services failed, but was heartened to see there was more deliberation in our process. We are obviously divided, but my hope is we begin to find common ground on behalf of our residents.
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I am disappointed that my motion to go into closed session to discuss the reported recent hire of Mr. Epperson failed. I believe that we need to perform oversight and provide counsel on hires of this nature, and according to our Board rules, Talent & Recruitment is the most apt
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Today's ruling by the Michigan Court of Appeals is both a vindication of the actions taken by the Board on December 13 to appoint Adeline Hambley as Administrative Health Officer and underlines the incorrectness of the actions taken on February 28 of this year by the Board to
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Disappointed to see my colleague Commissioner Bonnema censured by the Ottawa GOP, in part because we have a good working relationship. Working across party lines should be a plus, not a motive for censure.
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I was disappointed that my motion in today’s Planning & Policy meeting to construct a policy to have online Public eComments be posted online failed. Public eComments are just that, public, and residents deserve to see them posted in a public forum.
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I am pleased that the newly-introduced policies around Security Reimbursement, Employee Discipline and Employee Selection were removed from the agenda by vote of the Planning & Policy Committee so that they can receive detailed review by Corporate Counsel.
Discussion around these
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Regardless of Administration and Board Leadership’s opinion on Director Hambley’s public facing comments on the initial $2.5M proposal, they undoubtedly did improve the final budget. Ottawa County residents would have seen diminished service absent her advocacy over the course of
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The most recent Board newsletter, The Ottawa Way, has many useful and interesting articles. However, it also has a few elements, especially the one listing the Board’s accomplishments, that I would expect to see in a piece of campaign literature for certain members of the Board,
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Some quick answers on questions I’ve received over the last few days.
- I voted no on the motion to recess this morning because I think we owe it to all parties involved, most importantly the Ottawa community, to render a timely verdict on this issue.
- I believe that it is Chair
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Last year, Ottawa County participated in a unique initiative entitled Man Therapy Michigan, which works to reshape the conversation about suicide prevention and the broader issues surrounding men's mental health.
Unfortunately, today the Finance Committee
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This Tuesday, the Board will be asked to approve the below motion ‘correcting’ our Resolution from 12/13/22 appointing Adeline Hambley. I will be voting no, as there is no legitimate basis for amending this Resolution, which correctly stated our desire to appoint Ms. Hambley.
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Although I would very much welcome a return to good faith negotiations, as the letter below from Administrator Gibbs and Chair Moss seems to wish, unfortunately this budget process, especially the first two work sessions, have been marred by both bad faith and lack of
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Ottawa County residents recognize the importance of belonging and inclusion. As a board and a community, let’s continue working to make Ottawa County a place that stands for equality, respect and acceptance of all!
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I understand there are strong opinions around this issue, but I support the Ottawa County Health Department and their efforts to make sure those who are currently unable to receive the Covid-19 Vaccine are able to attend in-person school safely this fall.
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I believe that we can and should assume leadership on Ottawa Food, and not take a backseat or even worse, a bystander role here. The fight against food insecurity should be a county-wide one, and as the entity that by definition encompasses all of Ottawa County, it makes the most
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I am heartened that Judge McNeil rejected the idea that the December 13 Resolution was not a valid decision of the Board to appoint Adeline Hambley as Administrative Health Director and that Open Meetings Act violations occurred in the process.
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Great rundown of the Early Voting Plan that was removed from consideration by Chair Moss on Tuesday.
Two important points:
One, of the just over $300,000 the County is putting in, $202,000 of that will be reimbursed to us by the state, leaving a total net County investment of
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The Ottawa County Safe Homes initiative is now live at
The below 5x7 Lock Bags are free for anyone who would like one and include a child safe gun lock inside.
I will have a large number of bags for distribution at the Holland Pride event this Saturday.
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I wanted to take a moment to explain how I currently view the matter of Administrator Gibbs and a bit more in depth on why I voted the way I did on the motion to place him on Administrative Leave yesterday.
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Update 2/24 - "I voted yes on the Motion to adopt the Settlement Agreement as I believe it accomplishes many important goals, most notably that of retaining both the Health Director and the Deputy Health Director. This has been a trying period for all involved and I am pleased
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The recent decision by the Compensation Committee to approve 60% increases plus a $1000 monthly stipend for County Commissioners is far outside neighboring counties’ compensation standards, and constitutes a major disservice to County taxpayers.
If this recommendation is
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‘We as a board need to once again do things the Ottawa way, a way that recognizes there are many different perspectives in this county and that slow and deliberate action is the best way to bring together those perspectives.’ My Letter to the Editor. 👇
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"It is my hope that we can see a Budget Adjustment to restore funding for the Ottawa Food Coordinator be placed on the next Finance Committee agenda, as the obvious lack of funding for the Coordinator position is harming the Ottawa community’s combined effort to to ensure all
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Today, the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners voted 7-3 to accept Counsel's recommendation regarding litigation and settlement activities in the case of Hambley v. Ottawa County as addressed during Closed Session.
I voted no because I disagreed with Counsel's recommendation.
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This Tuesday, the Board will be asked to approve a request from the Administrator for a Senior Executive Aide at a total cost of $132,218. I will be voting no, as both the position and additional $37K over our current Executive Assistant salary are, in my mind, unwarranted.
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Since Tuesday’s organizational meeting, the Board has received over 500 Public eComments from area residents. You can view the comments received from 1/3/23 through this afternoon here:
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I was very disappointed that the Committtee Assignments are so unevenly apportioned among the Board members. All eleven of us have talents, points of view and experiences that we bring, and these assignments unfortunately do not employ these at all evenly.
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Great to be able to help out Loreen, Michelle and Candice of the
@miOCDPH
Hearing and Vision Screening team at Black River Public School this morning!
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I understand that there are a lot of issues pertaining to the Mask Mandate, but this recent UM study backs the science with strong evidence that Masks in school settings have been very effective at reducing Covid transmission, both in the classroom and at home.
Schools that require students to wear masks report less COVID-19 cases, U-M study finds
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This Tuesday, we will be voting on the creation of a new Communication Director position, as well as considering the possibility of the creation of a Communications Department as part of County Administration.
I am concerned about this position as well as the possibility of an
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Thankful for the opportunity to represent and serve each and every resident of this great City and County! Happy Thanksgiving to you and your loved ones.
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"I am disappointed to no longer be able to serve Ottawa residents and advocate for housing opportunity as Housing Commissioner, but I am grateful for the opportunity I have had these last three years to help develop the Commission and its vital mission”
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The only reason the Board is voting on the Agreement is because of the financial investment that the Clerk’s office is looking to make to help create further savings for Ottawa County residents. Our only role here is to decide to invest those funds or not.
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"I voted no on the Motion to approve a Special Meeting for potential removal of Administrative Health Office as I think the fundamental question around the potential removal of the Health Officer is does staff have the right to give us their thoughts on a matter? Do they have a
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I was heartened to see the Countywide Broadband proposal pass with unanimous support. Making sure all of Ottawa County has access to high speed broadband internet is key for both residents and business alike.
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‘I voted no on the Resolution on Vaccine Waivers because I believe this document could have been more balanced by presenting the overall benefits of vaccinations in addition to the information offered around waivers .’
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Proud to be among the 44 county commissioners from across Michigan to be honored on April 25, 2023, in Lansing as a graduate of the Michigan Association of Counties’ (MAC) County Commissioner Academy and to receive my certificate presented by MAC Board President Stan Ponstein of
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Congratulations to the Ottawa County Public Health Department for these two important awards! Whether it’s Covid-19, E. coli, Ebola, or PFAS, great to see our team recognized for the hard work they do to keep Ottawa residents safe and prepared.
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@Girl555Here
Those statements would be more credible if the majority hadn’t had a plan to fire her for over a year now.
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“I voted no on the Resolution regarding PA 233 because I am in favor of having as robust and as diverse a portfolio of energy sources as possible and I believe that this petition will negatively affect that by adding an additional layer of red tape to the process of starting wind
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I am supportive of Ottawa County taking immediate action to mirror the current EO on Mask Usage, and then begin discussing further measures to keep County residents safe.
Oakland County officials acted late Saturday. Ingham County — home to Lansing — followed Sunday and also limited gathering sizes, restaurant capacity and mandated employee health screenings.
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Congratulations to John Shay! Wishing him all the best at his new position.
The city of Wyoming announced Monday night John Shay, former Ottawa County administrator will be the next city manager:
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'Historically, all Commissoners had two spots equally on the four main standing committees. It is my hope that we can still make additional changes so that all Commissioners have a more equal representation than they do now so that committees and commissions can benefit from the
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This Tuesday, we will be considering two newly revised policies around Employee selection and discipline. These policies drastically affect Human Resources involvement in employee selection and discipline and allow the Administrator and the Boatd of Commissioners full authority
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While Mr. Epperson has not officially been introduced to the Board, this hire would, from all appearances, represent a distinct difference in profile from what we have customarily had as Administrative Assistant, that is, an apolitical assistant to the Administrator and the
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I voted no on the Motion to Terminate Mr. Gibbs' Contract because, while I understand there are a number of serious accusations against Mr. Gibbs, especially the allegation of threat to bodily harm Counsel Jordan, and the allegation that he made degrading remarks about some of
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"It is my hope that going forward all committee items will once again appear on the action agenda and not on the consent agenda. The full Board deserves to hear presentations and weigh in with questions and their vote on these important items, and the public very much deserves
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‘One of the main concerns I have with a potential increase of this nature, besides simply the cost, is that it will make returning to this part time role nearly impossible, and that we will maintain the current posture of an activist Board that is out of character with the
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Making sure those who can’t get vaccinated are protected in their school environments is important. A mask mandate until we get past Delta for under 12 y/o kids is a step we should take.
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Heartfelt wishes for gratitude and peace. Merry Christmas 🎄
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I do not believe that we should be taking this specific action around a specific fund without first having a uniform fund balance policy for all funds. I also believe we should implement this policy, once made, during the fiscal year transition, not in the middle of the budget
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Thank you Holland for your trust! I look forward to serving you another two years!
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Some general thoughts on tomorrow's vote:
The Recommendation from the Compensation Committee has many positive, thoughtful considerations, especially around Road Commissioner pay.
However;
1. I believe that the 60% pay increase is excessive. I do not believe it is
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There seems to be some confusion over the last month about what we, as a Board, had before us on December 13 regarding the approval of a new Admiistrtive Health Officer.
The facts are that there was a properly added agenda item entitled ‘A Resolution to appoint a new
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Update 2/24 - On Friday 2/23, Chair Moss publicly released a set of accusations that were sent to Mr. Gibbs’ attorney. Approximately half of those charges were the ones Mr. Gibbs was shown on the 21st. The other half were brand new charges. I am troubled by the public release,
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I voted no on the strategic planning vendor contract for $100,000 to process and produce cost of service metrics is not warranted at this moment. I believe this Board needs to first work through the overall direction and values it wants to see in county services before we
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This Tuesday, the Board will be voting on an Interim County Administrator. There are currently four names being suggested by leadership for this position, as follows:
- Ben Wetmore
- Paul Sachs
- Karen Karasinski
- Jon Anderson
Karen and Jon have been highlighted, and Jon
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For the Winter semester in the Holland area, West Ottawa Public, together with Holland Public and Black River Public, will all maintain the Mask Mandate they had in place for the Fall semester.
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Thank you to Mary Ellen Murphy for having me on this morning to talk about the $4M Agreement from a few weeks ago, future steps on that, as well as Commissioner Terpstra’s departure and the new Deputy Administrator.
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My update today to the Holland City Council - The Adeline Hambley hearing and possible resolution, the Employee Selection and Discipline Policies, District Six Commissioner replacement and the EGLE Interlocal Grant with the City of Holland.
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On 8/1, we were presented with the Proposed FY 24 Budget:
On Tuesday, we will be presented with another Budget, with significant changes:
It is important to point out that none of these changes were ever voted on, but rather were
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At the June 27 Board Meeting, I offered two amendments to the Censure Resolution, one to remove the recommendation to strip Committee Assignments from Commissioner Bonnema altogether, which failed. The other was to have the recommended sanction simply be removal of Commissioner
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‘I was disappointed that my motion to amend the Kallman Legal contract failed. I do not see how Ottawa residents will benefit from the inclusion of ‘at cause’, as it will reduce the Board’s future flexibility in regards to their Corporate Counsel needs.’
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My Public Comment today on the Ottawa County Health Department’s Mask Mandate to the Holland City Council.
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Great to get some time with Senators Peters and Stabenaw at their briefing today for Michigan County Commissioners. Our federal/local partnerships work because we have strong partners in DC!
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For those who may have any doubts, the line ‘the County is requiring that the general fund contribution to DPH’s budget return to average pre-COVID levels’, when we have taken no votes whatsoever on this demonstrates an overall lack of good faith and a level of presumption on
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Today, the Board voted unanimously to authorize Counsel to arrange and participate in mediation in the Hambley v Ottawa County. The Board likewise voted unanimously to establish a special committee to participate in the above mediation.
I was pleased that the Board could take
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The newly proposed FY 2024 Budget with Board leadership changes can be found at the link below. Notable changes include a $2.1M General Fund decrease to Public Health and a $243K increase to fund the proposed new Veteran Affairs Director position.
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This Memorial Day, let us remember and honor all who gave their lives to protect our country, our freedom, and our democracy. We owe them all our deepest gratitude.
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Disappointed that Senator Victory and Representative Meerman would support a lawsuit against the Ottawa County Board of Health. This action only makes their job of keeping Ottawa residents safe more difficult and indeed more perilous.
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‘As a former County Commissioner, I know that you all at the County level only get things done by working together and by listening to everyone in your County’ - President Biden
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'I voted no on the Motion to place Administrator Gibbs on Leave because I felt that, with a number of issues still to be discussed, it was premature for the Board to take action of any sort'.
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Today in Finance Committee, we reviewed where we are currently on our ARPA. Depending on a few factors, we have >$12M yet to invest. It’s my hope we can work together to identify projects that will continue to move this community forward!
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I’m disappointed that my motion to table for six months and assess how our new protocols play out was not successful, but hopeful that we will be able to take advantage of any positives and minimize the potential negatives of the planned changes.
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"I was disappointed in the Chair’s assignment of blame for the votes to a resident volunteer on our Compensation Committee. We have extensive Administrative and Legal facilities to help our residents navigate their duties on our volunteer Boards, and it was very disheartening to
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We as a Board need to reexamine our visioning process from January 3, where it succeeds and where it fails, and where it fails, how we can work to repair the damage it has occasioned.
Pride festivals in Ottawa County this year will take place under an umbrella of concern — but also in defiance of an openly hostile message emanating from county officials.
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Congratulations to the Ottawa County Public Defender’s Office of your well-deserved 2023 City of Holland Social Justice Award!
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Congratulations
@JustinRoebuck
! There are lots of great Ottawa leaders, but Justin is one of Ottawa’s finest.
Congratulations to
@JustinRoebuck
in being recognized as the 2021 Clerk of the Year by the Michigan Association of County Clerks. Well deserved, my friend.
@OttawaElections
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Update to the Holland City Council regarding yesterday’s Ottawa County Board meeting:
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