'Strained': Ottawa County places administrator on paid leave
OTTAWA COUNTY — Administrator John Gibbs has been placed on paid administrative leave after a special meeting of the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners on Thursday, Feb. 22.
There were three items on the agenda: an update from Board Chair Joe Moss, consideration of complaints against Gibbs, and consideration of an offer of resignation.
Moss began the first agenda item by referencing a reported settlement agreement with Health Officer Adeline Hambley, the focus of recent court hearings.
“The last few months have been interesting to say the least,” Moss said. “We’ve had constant media attacks, claiming the county agreed to a ginormous settlement. During this time, it’s become clear to me that people, including Administrator Gibbs, really believed that was true.
“It has seemed that John’s relationship with the board has become more strained during this time period.”
Moss said Gibbs’ relationship with the board began to deteriorate in December and January. He claimed commissioners said Gibbs was ignoring their directions.
He also claimed Gibbs drafted a resignation letter in mid-January, but decided not to pursue it. He said Gibbs offered last week to resign for $630,000, then revised that figure to $420,000.
“It’s probably worth noting that, if the administrator is terminated, the current contract talks about paying around $210,000,” Moss said.
Following Moss' remarks, the board entered closed session to discuss “complaints against” Gibbs. After returning, Moss made a motion to place Gibbs on paid administrative leave. The motion passed 10-1, with Doug Zylstra voting no. Moss didn't indicate how long the leave would last.
Following the vote, Moss requested a motion to recess the meeting "until next week.” That motion passed 11-0. Moss said a time for the meeting would be announced “as soon as possible.”
When asked if he’d like to comment, Gibbs told reporters: “Not at this time.”
Moss told reporters county operations will "continue like normal."
"There's a deputy administrator (Ben Wetmore) and he fills in when the administrator is not available," Moss said.
Thursday's meeting was brought on by a letter sent by Gibbs' attorney to Moss. It was the second letter, from two different lawyers, that Gibbs sent regarding his employment with the county.
In an earlier letter dated Jan. 15, Aaron Davis of Butzel Long warned, should the board's meeting Jan. 16 "involve any discussion of changing Mr. Gibbs' employment status with Ottawa County," it would be "our intention to ensure the provisions of my client's employment contract are followed in strict order."
More: Gibbs warns of consequences, should OI attempt to fire him
The board didn't take action Jan. 16, but steps were taken Feb. 13 to hire an outside attorney to address the letter.
Meanwhile, according to a separate letter obtained by The Sentinel on Wednesday, Gibbs retained new counsel — Noah Hurwitz of Ann Arbor-based firm Hurwitz Law.
In the new letter, sent to Moss on Feb. 15, Hurwitz said tension with the board began after Gibbs' voiced concerns about the performance of Kallman Legal Group, the county's corporation council, in March 2023. Gibbs sent his concerns to Moss, then repeated them in July.
During an October termination hearing for Hambley, former Deputy Administrator Patrick Waterman indicated Gibbs was unhappy with representation from Kallman. Waterman said Gibbs expressed frustration on multiple occasions about delays in contracts and grants. Gibbs later said he hadn't complained about attorney Jack Jordan, but had spoken to Moss and Vice Chair Sylvia Rhodea about communication issues.
Hurwitz said the county "stands to assume significant liability, should it proceed with continuing to harass, defame and belittle my client (for) following his constitutional expression of free speech under the First Amendment, rightfully criticizing the performance of (Kallman Legal Group) in furtherance of the public interest.
"Mr. Gibbs has already been subjected to adverse employment actions, including demands that he resign, threats of termination, and disparagement in the public eye."
The newest letter was sent to The Sentinel by an anonymous source Wednesday. Hurwitz independently confirmed its authenticity.
The purpose of the letter was to "convey that Mr. Gibbs is amenable to resigning his position in consideration for a lump sum payment of the entire amount owed ... pursuant to his employment agreement ... $630,000," Hurwitz wrote.
Hurwitz said the figure wasn't "demanding a king’s ransom like some of his contemporaries" but instead reflects "the county’s contractual obligations to my client and ... a substantial discount from the damages, costs and attorney fees that arise from litigation."
Hurwitz said Gibbs will not voluntarily relinquish his position otherwise, and that the county has no legal basis to terminate him “for cause.”
According to a clause in his contract, Gibbs "may be terminated at any time ... for cause (defined as intentional fraud, dishonesty, gross misconduct, or willful malfeasance) in connection with his performance."
However, the board may also fire him without cause if they provide a 90-day written notice.
If the board fires Gibbs without cause, he'd receive a lump sum severance payment of nine months' pay, as well as nine months of health insurance. As of his hiring on Jan. 3, 2023, Gibbs made an annualized salary of $210,000 plus benefits.
If he were terminated for cause, he would receive no severance, according to the contract.
Clashes with legal counsel
Gibbs communicated his concerns about Kallman's performance as early as March 10, 2023, Hurwitz wrote.
That day, in an email to attorney David Kallman and commissioners, Gibbs outlined three specific allegations, including:
The insufficient availability of legal counsel, often leaving the county without advice
The lack of a system through which to track legal deliverables, meaning requests for legal service were left outstanding for long periods of time
The competency of corporation counsel to give appropriate advice
Hurwitz said Gibbs’ complaint "provided actionable and reasonable solutions to each problem asserted, however, none of his complaints were acted upon and no solutions were adopted."
Gibbs again sent a letter to Moss and Rhodea on July 18 that allegedly detailed "the extensive deficiencies he had uncovered in relation to the corporation counsel’s performance."
Gibbs' concerns included "the provision of incorrect legal advice, significant privacy violations, delays of weeks or months in the provision of routine advice, continued insufficient availability of counsel, a continued lack of organization or deliverables tracking systems, and unprofessional conduct on the part of the corporation counsel," Hurwitz wrote.
The concerns, Hurwitz said, focus on Kallman's "competency to perform public government functions" rather than "handling matters of litigation." He said no individual attorneys were necessarily targeted.
Hurwitz said, rather than addressing his client's concerns, some board members and lead attorney David Kallman met with Gibbs, where his concerns were again not addressed.
"Mr. Kallman insulted Mr. Gibbs’ professionalism and stated the true motivation behind Mr. Gibbs’ complaint was an attempt to seize power within the county," Hurwitz wrote. "The board conducted no investigation into Mr. Gibbs’ complaints, and instead began to plan Mr. Gibbs’ expulsion."
Hurwitz said the OI-led board has "become increasingly hostile toward" his client and that some members "aligned with (Kallman) have openly expressed their lack of confidence in Mr. Gibbs, despite his consistently positive performance record."
The reference could be an allusion to Ottawa Impact's seven-member majority on the board. Gibbs was selected by Moss and Rhodea; his hiring was part of a series of controversial changes made during the group's inaugural meeting.
A controversial tenure
Since his hiring, Gibbs has faced at least one allegation of creating a toxic work environment, brought forth by Commissioner Jacob Bonnema, who originally ran on the OI platform but split from the group in March 2023 — around the same time he filed the complaint.
After an investigation by an outside legal firm, Human Resources Director Marcie VerBeek concluded the evidence “did not substantiate the claim of harassment.” Moss later censured Bonnema for "abusing his authority" in filing the complaint.
Now, Gibbs is claiming the county has created "a full-blown hostile work environment" against him, citing the recent creation of a strategic planning subcommittee "to micromanage a responsibility that has traditionally belonged to the county administrator."
More recently, Gibbs was accused of age discrimination after a controversial executive aide hire. The move inspired a lawsuit from a finalist for the position, Ryan Kimball, who had more qualifications than the younger candidate selected. A scheduled closed session to discuss the lawsuit in January prompted the first letter from Gibbs' previous attorney.
More: Lawsuit: Gibbs committed age discrimination in hiring executive aide
Hurwitz said the lawsuit "is entirely baseless and ... not borne out on the true facts of the matter," but alleged it "quickly became the vehicle for the county’s attempt to fire Gibbs."
"After its own failure to secure a settlement in the Kimball matter, (Kallman) seized an opportunity to exact its revenge on Mr. Gibbs by offering his termination as part of a settlement offer," Hurwitz wrote.
Hurwitz said the board approached Gibbs on Jan. 9 to request he tender his resignation.
"The board was clear that, should Gibbs not tender his resignation, he would be terminated with cause," Hurwitz wrote. "This threat was renewed again on Feb. 12, 2024, when (Moss) called Gibbs to again ask for his resignation and inform him the board wanted to take action to effect his ouster as soon as possible."
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Hurwitz maintains Gibbs’ performance has been "beyond reproach," but that "corporation counsel has collaborated with the board to expel Mr. Gibbs in retaliation for his criticism of (their) performance."
Hurwitz ended his letter by saying the county has three options:
Honor its obligations under Gibbs' employment contract until Jan. 2, 2026
Proceed with unlawfully terminating Gibbs
Negotiate an amicable resolution
— Contact Sarah Leach and Mitchell Boatman at newsroom@hollandsentinel.com.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: 'Strained': Ottawa County places administrator on paid leave
