Hambley termination hearing continues with questioning of John Gibbs
OTTAWA COUNTY — The list of witnesses in a termination hearing for Ottawa County Administrative Health Officer Adeline Hambley brought in a pair of former county employees Tuesday afternoon before shifting to administrator John Gibbs and Hambley herself Wednesday morning.
The hearing was allowed to move forward Tuesday, Oct. 24, by Muskegon County 14th Circuit Court Judge Jenny L. McNeill, who said Monday she didn’t have standing to intervene prior to the termination hearing taking place, but added Hambley has the right to seek relief in the courts after the board presumably removes her.
More: Hambley termination hearing underway, will last into Wednesday
More: Lawsuit: Gibbs committed age discrimination in hiring executive aide
It began with testimony from a handful of Ottawa County officials, including County Clerk Justin Roebuck, Human Resources Director Marcie VerBeek and Fiscal Services Director Karen Karasinski.
Board Chair and Ottawa Impact Founder Joe Moss filed notice Sept. 27 that a removal hearing was planned for Hambley over allegations of “incompetence, misconduct and neglect of duty.” Moss’ allegations revolve largely around health department budget negotiations, which culminated in $4 million in board-orchestrated cuts and half a dozen layoffs for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1.
They include:
Hambley demonstrated incompetence, misconduct and neglect of duty by making false public representations about budgetary scenarios.
Hambley demonstrated incompetence, misconduct and neglect of duty by falsely claiming that she was not included in the budget process.
Hambley demonstrated incompetence, misconduct and neglect of duty by failing to cooperate in the budget process.
Hambley demonstrated incompetence, misconduct and neglect of duty by making false claims that encouraged and caused confusion, anxiety, fear and panic in the community.
The removal hearing is required by state law before the board can officially terminate Hambley from her position. Attorney Sarah Riley-Howard represented Hambley, and David Kallman of Kallman Legal Group represented the Ottawa County Board.
Retired Judge Thomas Brennan presided over the hearing, adding he was there to provide order, not to issue any rulings. Brennan said he wouldn’t rule on any objections, but the parties were free to make objections for any future purpose where it may be relevant.
The final trio of witnesses during Tuesday’s session included a pair of former county employees — John Shay and Patrick Waterman. Shay was the county administrator from August 2021 until Jan. 3, 2023, when he was fired by the board and replaced with Gibbs. Shay is now Wyoming’s city manager.
Waterman was deputy county administrator for eight months until he resigned in July, citing an inability to establish a working relationship with Gibbs. He is now the assistant city manager in Wyoming.
Howard asked Shay several questions about an exchange between himself and Commissioner Gretchen Cosby, a commissioner-elect at the time, in December. Cosby has referenced the exchange in previous meetings, saying attempts to meet with Hambley and former health officer Lisa Stefanovsky went unanswered.
Howard showed an email sent Dec. 16, 2022, from Cosby to Shay asking to meet Hambley, Stefanovsky and Lynn Doyle. Shay responded saying it was “a great idea” and provided email and direct phone numbers for each person.
Howard asked Shay if he met with Moss and Sylvia Rhodea on Dec. 13, 2022, the day Hambley was hired, and if the topic of Hambley’s hiring came up during that meeting.
“Yes,” Shay said. “They were upset with that. They felt the incoming board should make that decision and not the outgoing board.”
Questioning of Waterman started by detailing his relationship with Gibbs. Waterman said he had difficulties with items like day-to-day communications and scheduling.
Waterman also indicated Gibbs was unhappy with representation from the Kallman Legal Group. Waterman said Gibbs expressed frustration on multiple occasions that corporate counsel was causing delays in contracts and grants. Gibbs later said he hadn't complained about attorney Jack Jordan, but had spoken to Moss and Rhodea about communication issues.
Waterman said Gibbs expressed concern his job could be in danger if he went against Moss and Rhodea.
“In many conversations he and I had one-on-one, he was more candid about his concerns for standing up to the board on issues,” Waterman said. He added Gibbs used the phrase "end up at the bottom of a river,” meaning he felt his job was in jeopardy if he didn’t “follow directives to a T.”
In his testimony Wednesday, Gibbs said he doesn’t recall using that phrase.
Howard also asked Waterman about the hiring of Jordan Epperson. Waterman said he had concerns, similar to those shared by Marcie VanBeek earlier Tuesday. He said Epperson believed ethics “depend on who you’re working for” and that government positions like the role he was interviewing for are “absolutely” political.
Waterman said Ryan Kimball, who filed an age discrimination lawsuit against Ottawa County on Tuesday, was the preferred candidate of the hiring committee, but Gibbs directed VerBeek to hire Epperson anyway.
Waterman also spoke about early budget discussions, saying he was involved at the beginning of meetings before Gibbs stopped inviting him. He said Hambley was “courteous and professional” during meetings with Gibbs, in his experience.
During his cross examination, Kallman focused on the fact that Waterman was no longer employed at the county in August and September, when the bulk of budget discussions took place.
Although only seven witnesses were scheduled for Tuesday, Howard called an eighth witness at the end of the session — Ottawa County IT Director Paul Klimas. Howard asked Klimas about litigation holds — a notification from a legal department to employees to not delete any electronic or physical records that may pertain to current or imminent litigation.
Klimas said he's never had a litigation hold request in his four years with the county. He said any such request would come to his department for implementation.
Howard, referencing Hambley’s ongoing lawsuit against the board of commissioners, asked if a litigation hold was requested by corporate counsel. Klimas said it was not.
Kallman had no questions during cross examination.
Throughout her questioning Tuesday, Howard frequently asked those testifying if they've witnessed Hambley demonstrating incompetence or misconduct in her role. Each said, in their experience working with Hambley, they have not.
The first witness called Wednesday was Gibbs. He declined to answer Howard’s first question, about when he was offered his job, saying it was irrelevant to the hearing.
Howard disagreed and asked either Moss or Brennan to compel Gibbs to answer. Brennan said neither he nor Moss had any authority to compel. David Kallman conferred with Gibbs to advise him, after which Gibbs answered the question.
Gibbs said he was given the job Jan. 3 and was at the meeting because he knew "there was a possibility” he would be hired.
Howard asked Gibbs for his perspective on several items discussed by witnesses on Tuesday. He frequently responded, “I don’t remember.”
About 35 minutes into Gibbs’ testimony, Howard asked about the process of hiring Epperson. Gibbs said he couldn't answer due to ongoing litigation. Howard again asked Moss to compel Gibbs to answer the question.
Brennan, Moss and Stephen Kallman again said there was no authority to compel an answer. Brennan told Howard she could either file an objection on the record and continue her questioning, or call for a recess until she could get a ruling on the statute from a trial court judge.
After consulting with Hambley, Howard decided not to pursue the line of questioning on Epperson and continued with Wednesday’s hearing. She did, however, record an objection saying they weren't being given a “full and fair opportunity” to question Gibbs.
Howard then shifted her focus to the county’s budget process and communications between Gibbs and Hambley. Those questions went on for more than an hour.
After Gibbs said it was inappropriate for Hambley to share budget information with the public when numbers weren't finalized, Howard showed an Aug. 22 press release from Moss on his campaign website about the proposal to return the health department budget to “pre-COVID levels.”
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Gibbs stood by his opinion.
Later, Gibbs said an Aug. 30 release from Hambley saying she didn’t have the latest budget and wasn’t being included demonstrated the charge of incompetence because she would've had the budget in the coming days.
When asked why Moss and Gibbs could issue press releases but not Hambley, Gibbs said he couldn’t speak for Moss and that his release was only in response.
Howard and Gibbs discussed requests by Gibbs and Cosby to Hambley for minimum service levels required by the state. Hambley responded to those requests, but Gibbs said she didn't provide exact staff numbers or funding amounts needed to meet those minimums.
He said that Hambley claiming proposed budget drafts wouldn’t meet minimum service levels while not providing exact numbers were “outlandish claims” that were “untruthful and fear mongering.”
The hearing was expected to conclude after press time Wednesday.
— Contact reporter Mitchell Boatman at mboatman@hollandsentinel.com.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Hambley termination hearing continues with questioning of John Gibbs
