My Take: Ottawa County doesn’t want us to know

On Tuesday evening, Joe Moss and his delegation of Ottawa Impact commissioners intend to pass a county resolution declaring Ottawa County a “constitutional county.” The resolution reads like verbal spaghetti, with 10 "WHEREAS" statements followed by seven "THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED" conclusions that purportedly shield Ottawa County from any requirements of the Michigan and U.S. Constitutions that the so-called “majority of six” have decided that they do not like.

This is characteristic of the “majority of six” Ottawa Impact members, the name the remaining six of 11 commissioners gave themselves after the March fracture occurred, causing two of their former majority to announce they no longer wanted to be associated with Ottawa Impact. Those in this small majority, led by Chairperson Joe Moss, spew forth many pronouncements, but lack a foundation of deeds that give proof to a genuine concern for these constitutions, the rule of law, the rightful role of a commissioner, or We the People.

Tuesday’s anticipated vote strikes me as hypocritical grandstanding based on their recent actions that violate the spirit of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, and likely the letter of it. Their attempts to control the flow of information about what they are doing likely also violate Michigan’s “Sunshine Laws” — the Open Meetings Act (OMA) and the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) — so named because those laws are supposed to enable citizens to see and understand the real operations of our government.

On May 2, I reached out to the Michigan Attorney General’s office after first notifying Moss, Administrator John Gibbs and corporate counsel Jack Jordan of my concerns they may be misusing FOIA, and possibly doing so illegally. As a longtime public employee in the Health Department, I have been directed to help fulfill FOIA requests from the media and public for many years, under the supervision of the county’s former management and attorneys. Whenever I have been asked to help look for documents responsive to a FOIA request that the Health Department might have, even though this is not part of my job duties, I have always seen my response as an important part of the county’s duty to the public to have a transparent and accessible government through these laws. The historical precedent set by former county administrations was to fulfill FOIA requests with a short number of days, possibly up to two weeks, and at little to no cost.

But recently a reporter shared with me two letters from county corporate counsel sent in response to two requests for information under FOIA. One of these FOIA requests should have come to my department because the request included some communication we would have sent and received, but I determined that it did not. That letter from corporate counsel to the reporter who made the FOIA request stated it would cost an estimated $3,000 and take six months to fulfill the request, and the second letter estimated $5,000 or more and up to nine months.

Both requests, in my experience, would typically take a few hours to fulfill and would previously have had no fees collected from Ottawa County. Shortly after, corporate counsel sent two FOIA requests to my department for help in collecting what was requested that were of similar or larger scope as the reporter’s requests, but with timelines of 10-14 days and little cost. Interestingly, these FOIA requests were from vocal supporters of Ottawa Impact who frequently give public comment at board of commissioners meetings.

The timeframes connected with the Freedom of Information Act ensure the free press and public have access to their government. The costs and timelines cited by this county administration put an undue burden on the people and the press that I am concerned is illegal at worst and heavy-handed at best. In addition, the current administration’s responses to FOIA requests seem to indicate unequal and discriminatory access through FOIA to Ottawa County government and results in a lack of transparency.

As if these FOIA actions and decisions aren’t chilling enough, on April 12, the day after the Ottawa County Department of Public Health issued a media release announcing two awards it received — one a national honor for its ability to plan for, respond to, and recover from public health emergencies, and the second from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services given to individuals or organizations for “significant contributions toward the health and well-being of Michigan citizens in the policy arena at the local or state level” — county administration announced to selected departments changes in the county’s approach to how these departments could provide information to the public and interact with the media. These new requirements significantly hamper (formerly) trusted department heads and their trained communications staff, who are subject matter experts and who were used to keeping county administration informed and equipped.

First, the new county administration announced to just five county departments — Public Health, Community Action Agency, Department of Strategic Impact, Community Mental Health, and Parks and Recreation — that all media releases must be submitted to county administration for review and approval 24 hours in advance of release. A short time later, these same departments were informed that their social media accounts would be moved under a social media monitoring platform for review, approval, and scheduling of all posts and activity. On May 10, almost all county departments were informed that they no longer had autonomy to respond to media inquiries about their departments’ work. Going forward, all reporter requests now must go through county administration for approval. A list of reporter questions and the departments’ answers must also be submitted for review and approval.

Decades of intentionally established trust and respect between departments and local media are now being eroded, and it is the residents of this county who will bear the harmful outcomes of what will likely become censorship and discrimination.

Let’s consider this in the current reality that no one from this new county administration will respond to inquiries from the media, and very rarely will they even acknowledge communication or requests they receive from the public, just as I haven’t heard from the Ottawa County officials that I contacted with FOIA concerns. Now they will not permit most department heads to respond directly to the press.

How will the residents of Ottawa County know about the operations of their government if discriminatory barriers are erected by Ottawa County administration to prevent “We the People” from accessing our government and its departments through FOIA? With scripted public words and grandstanding public gestures, Moss and his administration desire to solely control the public narrative. Constitutionally protected freedoms of the press are blocked, and there is a chilling effect on the free speech rights of the people. For an administration that ran campaigns on their government being “transparent by default,” is their walk aligning with their talk?

Will a county government administered by Ottawa Impact set right its unconstitutional behavior when it becomes a “constitutional county”? If the past is an indication of the future, I would say not.

— Marcia Mansaray is an Ottawa County employee and indignant Holland Township resident.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: My Take: Ottawa County doesn’t want us to know