Ottawa County commissioners want stronger review process for board appointments

OTTAWA COUNTY — An appointment to a local board is on hold as commissioners look to create a more rigorous appointment process.

During a talent and recruitment committee meeting Tuesday, Jan. 31 — following a contentious health and human services committee meeting — commissioners decided to delay approving a recommended appointment, the first brought to the committee since eight new commissioners took office.

The position is a consumer sector role on the advisory board for Community Action Agency, which is a volunteer position. The appointee must be eligible for services through CAA.

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Director Jennifer Brozowski said the recommended appointee is a county employee, but is eligible for the role. She also told commissioners these positions can often be hard to fill.

“It’s a difficult seat to fill,” she said. “It requires the individual, often, to take (time off) work. It’s strictly a volunteer position. Grant funding does not, unfortunately, allow me to pay them or have any other incentives."

Initially, committee chair Allison Miedema requested a motion to reject the appointment, which commissioner Joe Moss made. Commissioner Doug Zylstra asked why, to which Moss responded the new board should take a “fresh look” at appointments.

“I think we have a new board, we need to take a fresh look at whoever we’re going to be approving for appointments and things like that to gain an understanding,” Moss said. He added later the board doesn't "know anything about the applicant.”

Zylstra later amended the motion to send the appointment to the interview subcommittee while allowing for other potential recommendations or applications. The subcommittee will present an individual for appointment at the February talent and recruitment meeting. The amended motion passed unanimously.

Members of the interview subcommittee, which reviews applicants for appointments and employment opportunities, were selected Tuesday. Miedema, committee vice chair Lucy Ebel and Gretchen Cosby will serve on the subcommittee.

Zylstra said he requested to be on the committee, which he's served on for the last four years.

Prior to the vote, Moss questioned the amount of review for applicants in the past and said the board needs a stronger process.

“I just wonder if the county board has ever rejected anyone that has been submitted for a nomination,” he said. “It seems like in the past, there was a lack of questions and a lack of process. I would be in support of increasing questions and process when it comes to these types of appointments.”

Miedema told Brozowski the board wasn't trying to single out CAA, it “just (happened) to be the first” appointment brought to the committee. She said she “would love to see it opened up so we can see that process and what it looks like.”

Cosby added she’s interested in seeing specific selection criteria and looking at standardizing that across different boards if possible.

Earlier this year, when board members proposed appointing Kallman Legal Group as corporation counsel, several commissioners asked for a more in-depth process to review that appointment. That request was voted down 6-5, with Moss, Miedema and Cosby among those voting against an interview and candidate solicitation process.

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Delaying the appointment could result in a reduction in state funding for CAA, Brozowski said. If seats on the advisory board are open for more than 90 days, which this seat has been, it can result in a “finding” against the agency during state review. These findings result in lowered rating, and lowered funding in future grants.

Brozowski said she doesn’t know exactly how much funding could be at risk, but said CAA “needs to be in compliance with (its) organizational standards,” including filling vacancies in a timely manner.

The interview subcommittee meets as needed. A meeting date to review this appointment was not discussed during Tuesday’s committee meeting.

— Contact reporter Mitchell Boatman at mboatman@hollandsentinel.com. Follow him on Twitter @SentinelMitch.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Ottawa County commissioners want stronger review process for appointments