Moss, Gibbs and Hambley square off over health department budget cuts

OTTAWA COUNTY — The battle for message control at the Ottawa County Department of Public Health reached a fever pitch Monday after Administrator John Gibbs ordered staff to seize the department's social media accounts.

Just before 2:30 p.m. Aug. 28, a post signed by Gibbs and Board Chair Joe Moss appeared on the health department's social platforms, stating the county set a "fiscally responsible" budget for public health with a general fund allocation of $2.5 million.

"In line with fiscal responsibility and making the most of taxpayer dollars, the county is requiring that the general fund contribution to the (Department of Public Health)’s budget return to average pre-COVID levels," Moss and Gibbs wrote in the joint statement.

"This is a process all American families and businesses are going through, and it will not result in the discontinuation of any mandated services, and especially not the closure of (OCDPH)."

Health Officer Adeline Hambley told The Sentinel and other media outlets last week that Moss' demands to slash her budget next year by nearly $4 million could violate her state-mandated duties to protect public health, and potentially close the health department this year.

Hambley has an ongoing lawsuit against the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners over claims Ottawa Impact-linked members have repeatedly interfered with her ability to do her job and wrongfully “demoted” her in an attempt to appoint their preferred candidate.

Ottawa Impact is a far-right fundamentalist group created by Moss and Vice Chair Sylvia Rhodea after they unsuccessfully challenged the previous board and county health officer over COVID-19 mitigation mandates in 2020 and 2021.

Hambley used the health department's social media accounts on Thursday, Aug. 24, to communicate with the public about the heightened tensions between herself and Gibbs over an appropriate level of funding.

Emails provided to The Sentinel show Hambley telling Gibbs the request was nearly impossible to accommodate.

"Commissioner Moss’ proposal would slash (funding) from a $6.4 million total general fund contribution to a total of $2.5 million, a reduction of over 60 percent," Hambley wrote to Gibbs on Aug. 22. "This action brings the total operating budget for 2024 to $500,000 less than the 2009 budget, which was during the worst economic conditions the United States has experienced since The Great Depression."

No other departments were asked to reduce their budgets, according to county officials. Hambley was given a little less than two days to submit a revision.

Tensions reached a peak Monday, when County Communications Director Shannon Felgner was ordered to disable access to the department's social media accounts.

More: Hambley: Health department could shut down in weeks under proposed budget

"I have been directed to do the following: 'Please disable the Department of Public Health’s access to their social media accounts, as well as their GovDelivery account,'" Felgner wrote to Alison Clark, communications specialist and public information officer for OCDPH.

GovDelivery is a web-based email subscription management system that allows a member of the public to subscribe to news and information from department websites.

"While this temporary suspension lasts, if the Department of Public Health believes that you have a public health emergency you need to communicate via social media or GovDelivery, please do so through me," Felgner wrote, alluding to a social media policy put in place in May that ordered most departments — including OCDPH — to coordinate all social media, newsletter and website publications through the administrator's office.

When Hambley was informed of the policy change in May, she was told all communications and interview requests needed to routed through Gibbs, and to allow for 24 hours to review.

Hambley, at the time, pushed back, arguing there were exemptions made for other departments — yet the health department was noticeably omitted.

“I noticed that the sheriff, register of deeds, clerk, treasurer, etc. were not included in these requirements. I would assume (it's) because these positions are created by state statute and have defined responsibility over the operations of their respective departments.”

Hambley said the health department is also established under state statute and should be provided the same courtesy.

“As we strive to prevent disease, prolong life and promote public health, it is crucial to communicate directly with the public without delay,” Hambley wrote in the email, which was provided to The Sentinel. “Local public health is expected to provide both the media and the public with timely, accurate information and answers about public health, disease prevention and outbreaks.”

At a press conference with media Monday evening, Hambley said it's critical for the health department to be able to reach the public in the event of a health emergency.

"It's important (for me) to be able to have the powers and duties to inform and speak with the public as soon as possible if there is a threat to health," she said. "And that can be an outbreak. It can also be a threat to funding for providing essential services to the community. So that no longer is the case that we're able to do that — and we'll be looking at some way to be able to communicate quickly with the community moving forward."

As of Monday, Moss and Gibbs appeared to be in control of OCDPH's social media accounts.

In their statement, they said Hambley's recent pronouncements were made in "bad faith" and argued she was engaging in "media theatrics, instead of good faith conversations with the county administrator and the board of commissioners," which they said "is totally inappropriate and unprofessional."

Meanwhile, Gibbs took to his own Facebook account Saturday, Aug. 26, and said anyone opposed to Ottawa Impact's controversial decisions was suffering from "Ottawa Derangement Disorder, aka ODD."

"They say the ODDness is caused by exposure to freedom, the Constitution, logic, or those with opposing viewpoints," Gibbs wrote in the post.

Gibbs was endorsed by former President Donald Trump when he ran unsuccessfully as a Republican for Michigan's Third Congressional District. Democrat Hillary Scholten won the seat by more than 43,000 votes in November 2022.

In an earlier August post, Gibbs told his supporters to "not pay any mind when they lie, holler, screech, agitate, accuse, slander, plot, scheme, and threaten. If you're not getting attacked, you're not doing it right."

Ottawa Impact fired the previous administrator in January and hired Gibbs — who has no prior experience as a county administrator — with no public hiring process, bucking the county's historical practice of adhering to transparency.

Since starting the job, Gibbs has admitted during public meetings that he takes his input and queues from the chairs and vice chairs of the board and the county's various committees — all controlled by Ottawa Impact.

Moss, for his part, has fixated on the health department in the eight months since taking office. He and Rhodea have used the board's public meetings and committee meetings to criticize the department for everything from sponsoring Grand Valley State University's Sex Ed Week — it didn't — to saying it was inappropriate for the department to attend local Pride events, because to do so endorsed the "grooming" of children.

More: 'I want no headlines': Ottawa County alleges child grooming, sexual promiscuity at Pride Fest

The statement posted to social media Monday lists Moss and Gibbs as contacts, however, neither have ever responded to The Sentinel’s requests for comment.

Hambley sued the board in early February, claiming OI-linked commissioners have repeatedly interfered with her ability to do her job. That case is currently awaiting oral arguments before the Michigan Court of Appeals after commissioners appealed a lower court's ruling granting Hambley a preliminary injunction.

In that ruling, the COA ruled the board had the right to fire Hambley if commissioners followed the procedure outlined in state law, which requires the county be able to show "just cause" — meaning Hambley is derelict or neglectful in her state-mandated duties.

Hambley said the budget gutting is a clear indication Moss won't stop until he decimates the department.

"The significant and retaliatory cuts requested on behalf of Commissioner Moss are an attempt to achieve political victory over COVID‐19 at the expense of Ottawa County citizens," Hambley wrote in a statement Thursday.

“I can't even make a plan around it,” she told The Sentinel on Wednesday. “There's a line that you can maybe cut up to, where you could squeeze funds from here and there. But there's a point and a line where it's just no longer feasible to exist at all.”

Ottawa Impact currently accounts for six seats on the 11-member board.

Commissioner Roger Bergman, a non-OI-affiliated Republican, called the latest budget maneuvers by Moss and Gibbs disingenuous.

"The recent press release sent out by Mr. Gibbs on Aug. 28 is another example of telling lies or half-truths, which if told often enough, people will start to believe," Bergman told The Sentinel on Monday. "If you move the numbers around just right, the public won't know whether it's right or wrong."

He said criticisms Gibbs has voiced about the previous board — that they often voted unanimously on issues — is an indication of competence and wisdom, not a reason to suspect mismanagement.

"The past commissioners knew exactly what was going on with the budget by asking questions and trusting our administrator, as well as department directors," Bergman said.

He said the $2.5 million ask from Moss isn't realistic.

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Commissioner Doug Zylstra, the board's lone Democrat, said Moss and Gibbs are the ones acting in bad faith.

"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, has been marred by both bad faith and lack of transparency and willingness to share information with the entire board by the administrator and leadership," Zylstra said.

"These are obviously not the hallmarks of good-faith negotiations. If leadership wishes to enter good-faith negotiations with department heads and with the board as a whole, they need to begin modeling that behavior themselves."

— Sarah Leach is executive editor of The Holland Sentinel. Contact her at sarah.leach@hollandsentinel.com. Follow her on Twitter @SentinelLeach.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Moss, Gibbs and Hambley square off over health department budget cuts