If you are one of the scripture quoting suck-ups who speak at Commissioner meetings, you probably will not appreciate the irony of the latest three-stooges-show we must now put up with instead of competent county government. If this statement sounds harsh, it does not do justice to my complete disgust with the adolescent, inexcusable, and irresponsible behavior of the County Commissioners. Let’s review the facts.
Extremists Gain Control
Board chairman Joe Moss and Vice Chairwoman Sylvia Rhodea fired the previous administrator (the one who did the job efficiently and without drama) John Shay and hired John Gibbs immediately after being sworn in as Ottawa County Commissioners January 3rd, 2023. The Ottawa Impact commissioners have since then routinely been a rubber stamp vote for whatever Moss and Rhodea put on the agenda. Gibbs was hired without the normal required county HR procedures and met few if any of the documented requirements for the job although the commissioners at the time hailed him as overqualified for the job.
In March a complaint was made by ex-Ottawa Impact commissioner Jacob Bonnema who alleged Gibbs yelled at him aggressively when asked why he hadn’t returned his and another county commissioner’s messages. An altercation witnessed by a nearby reporter. Gibbs antagonized Bonnema and other commissioners not affiliated with Ottawa Impact by interrupting them in meetings and refusing to answer their questions. In an unprecedented move, Bonnema was censured and removed from committees for having made the complaint. Moss and Rhodea continued to back Gibbs until last month.
Recently policies were proposed and pushed by Ottawa Impact commissioners to consolidate hiring powers to the administrator’s office and the board rather than the county HR department. An irresponsible policy even under the best of circumstances.
Now the Silliness Begins
Joe Moss and John Gibbs are now accusing each other publicly through their attorneys of all kinds of childish nonsense, reminiscent of junior high children in an altercation on the playground. Although Ottawa Impact has heralded their transparency, the first hint of this debacle came when a letter from Gibbs attorney (the first one) warned the board to not fire him or be prepared to face a lawsuit. Here is an account pieced together from multiple news sources at different times.
- John Gibbs has been placed on paid leave indefinitely as of February 22nd.
- County faces an age discrimination lawsuit because Gibbs directed HR manager to hire 23-year-old Jordan Epperson who had fewer qualifications than an older applicant, but Epperson had associations with far-right election deniers and could be bossed around.
- Noah Hurwitz (Gibbs second attorney) reason for leave is because Gibbs criticized Kallman Legal Group, the county’s corporation counsel (another appointment made without public notice or proper vetting). Complaint includes:
- Waiting weeks or months for routine legal advice
- Kallman provided poor legal advice
- Unprofessional conduct and significant privacy violations
- Gibbs claims Kallman insulted him and claimed he was attempting to seize power in the county
- Kallman (of course) denies these false accusations and accuses Gibbs of deflecting scrutiny from his own actions
- The board threatened to fire Gibbs with cause if he didn’t resign in early February.
- February 12th, Moss called Gibbs to repeat the threat.
- Gibbs thought the board had made a settlement offer to pay Health Director Hambley $4 million to step down (they did – there was even a court case about it – Moss now claims it never happened).
- Gibbs claims, the real reason for leave is because he opposed board decisions that are detrimental to the county. (no detail as to what those decisions were). This is retaliation for Gibb’s efforts to protect the county. Moss is waging a public war because Gibbs would not be his puppet. Hurwitz says The County Board continues to bring chaos and shame to the County by pursuing personal vendettas instead of governance. Mr. Moss will lose this battle specifically because he cannot justify why he only gathered up his anonymous complaints after John Gibbs challenged the County Board and not before.
- Gibbs offers to resign for severance pay of $630K (the salary to finish up his 3-year contract)
- Drafted a resignation letter in January but the matter was dropped.
- Lowered offer to resign to $420K, twice his annual salary.
- Contract states severance of nine months salary for termination without cause, about 157K. Termination with cause, Gibbs receives no severance pay.
- Attorney Brook Bisonet of Grand Haven retained by the county to craft a letter accusing Gibbs of the following complaints. Joe Moss posted the letter to social media.
- Gibbs claimed a county official was cheating on their spouse. Allegedly espoused official was out of God’s grace.
- Sweeping his office monthly for surveillance devices
- Sabotaging the work of the board (no details)
- Threatening to kill the county attorney Jack Jordan. Administrator has expressed on multiple occasions that he wants to beat Jack Jordan to death for perceived slights and offenses.
- Employee alleges they witnessed Gibbs making disparaging and sexual/defamatory comments about female commissioners’ multiple times.
- Criticizing commissioners’ faith. Claimed their Protestant faith severely impacted their IQ and work ethic (Gibbs is Catholic). Refers to commissioners as retarded evangelicals.
- Employee asked to bug Gibbs office with a hidden camera to record conversations with both county employees and commissioners.
- Created a degrading and hostile work environment detrimental to employee’s mental health.
- Number of concerns from county commissioners about Gibb’s behavior, specifically that he was at times ignoring them, being insubordinate and possibly sabotaging their work.
Time to End It
The Ottawa Impact commissioners have made expensive mess after mess without taking any responsibility for their actions. There is little doubt John Gibbs will be terminated with either an expensive severance or the county will face yet another expensive lawsuit. Let us recount just some of the expensive mistakes Ottawa Impact commissioners have championed.
- Firing John Shay for no cause triggering severance pay
- Hiring John Gibbs without proper HR procedures, someone who does not have the required qualifications for the job.
- The attempt to fire Health Director Hambley for no cause, incurring legal expenses.
- Hiring Kallman legal counsel from Lansing at higher costs without considering law firms in Ottawa County. It is estimated Kallman is bleeding the county at approximately 35K per month.
- Creation of a media department (more propaganda is something we need like another hole in the head) and the policy that all public comment must go through the administrator John Gibbs.
- Drastically cutting the health department budget to a level that would have shut it down. Later partially restored.
- When the health director made the cuts public, the commissioners tried to use her actions to terminate with cause.
- Attempt to replace Hambley with Nathaniel Kelly an unqualified political loyalist and anti-vaxxer.
- A proposed settlement with Hambley for $4 million which could have had serious consequences for county bond sales and insurance. (A court later ruled the county did not have to honor the proposal)
- An age discrimination lawsuit.
- Declaring the county a constitutional county – a designation that is not legal.
- Proposed policy to pay for county employees concealed carry license and training.
Tired of commissioners using the county government for petty revenge and culture wars?
It is time to terminate more than just John Gibbs. Mark your calendar for August 6th and vote for a non-Ottawa Impact candidate in the primary.
Update
John Gibbs terminated in a special meeting February 29th. He has vowed to fight for reinstatement.
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