Ottawa County hires attorney to handle Gibbs' warning to Moss

OTTAWA COUNTY — The Ottawa County Board of Commissioners appeared to move closer to parting ways with Administrator John Gibbs on Tuesday.

In a last-minute change to the board's agenda, the board approved "the authorization to retain (the) legal services of Brook Bisonet and his firm, Guinan Bisonet, PLLC, to provide legal services in connection with the Jan. 15, 2024, letter to the board from Butzel regarding (Gibbs)."

The board also approved "a hiring freeze and transfer freeze that applies to proposed hires and transfers by (Gibbs), effective immediately, until further notice."

Gibbs, who was noticeably not present Tuesday, was installed Jan. 3, 2023, after the new Ottawa Impact majority fired predecessor John Shay without warning. In his 13 months with Ottawa County, Gibbs faced at least one allegation of creating a toxic work environment, brought forth by a sitting commissioner.

More recently, Gibbs was accused of age discrimination after a controversial executive aide hire in August. The move inspired a lawsuit from a finalist for the position, who had more qualifications than the younger candidate hired.

More: Gibbs warns of consequences, should OI attempt to fire him

Gibbs was selected by Ottawa Impact founders Joe Moss and Sylvia Rhodea. His hiring was part of a series of controversial changes made during the group's inaugural meeting, including the elimination of the county's department of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, changing the county motto from "Where You Belong" to "Where Freedom Rings," firing longtime county corporation counsel Doug Van Essen ahead of his planned retirement, and the attempted demotion of Health Officer Adeline Hambley — which led to a separate, ongoing lawsuit.

Things quickly soured between Gibbs and non-OI commissioners.

More: A year after the Ottawa Impact controversy, here's what the commissioners accomplished

In March, Commissioner Jacob Bonnema filed a complaint with human resources after a verbal altercation with Gibbs — during which Gibbs told Bonnema to "get out of my face." The exchange was overheard by a reporter from local ABC affiliate WZZM, which reported on the incident the same day.

After an investigation by an outside legal firm, Human Resources Director Marcie VerBeek concluded the evidence gathered during the investigation "did not substantiate the claim of harassment" and said "the findings indicate there was no violation of our organization's harassment policy or any applicable laws." Moss later censured Bonnema for abusing his authority in filing the complaint.

More: 'Cowardice': Bonnema rails against Moss as commissioners remove him from leadership role

Gibbs continued his contentious relationship with Bonnema and other non-OI commissioners in the months that followed, often interrupting them during meetings and refusing to answer their questions.

Through it all, Moss and Rhodea seemingly continued to back their chosen administrator — until January 2024, when Gibbs' personal attorney emailed Moss warning, should the board discuss "changing Mr. Gibbs' employment status with Ottawa County," his contract would be strictly followed.

"As you know, and your lawyers should know, there is no basis to terminate my client for cause," Aaron Davis, of Butzel Long, wrote to Moss. "Should the board, or its lawyers, attempt to get creative in that vein, be advised that the full extent of legal options available to Mr. Gibbs will be used to ensure the board ceases to violate Mr. Gibbs' constitutional, statutory, and contractual rights any further than it already has to date."

The letter came ahead of a planned closed session in January "to consult with corporate counsel regarding trial or settlement strategy in connection with Kimball v. County of Ottawa."

On Oct. 24, Ryan Kimball — a finalist for an executive aide position to Gibbs — sued in Ottawa County's 20th Circuit Court, alleging age discrimination when the administrator hired a younger candidate, 23-year-old Jordan Epperson, with fewer qualifications than the county required in its job posting.

During a termination hearing for Hambley, commissioners heard testimony from former deputy administrator Patrick Waterman, as well as VerBeek, in which they described concerning behavior when Epperson was interviewed.

"To my recollection, Mr. Epperson raised support for Ottawa Impact in his interviews," Waterman said. He added Epperson believed ethics “depend on who you’re working for” and that government positions like the role he was interviewing for are “absolutely” political.

The Sentinel reported in early September that heavily redacted emails from VerBeek to Gibbs and Waterman indicated differences of opinion as to who should've been offered the job.

In the emails, Gibbs told VerBeek on June 15 to make an offer to Epperson.

The next day, VerBeek asked for an additional meeting with the hiring committee "to discuss options prior to moving forward." Her statements were almost entirely redacted by corporation counsel. Only two sentences were released of the two-page email, along with a chart showing Epperson's qualifications as they compared to the other finalist: Kimball.

When asked if Gibbs mentioned Epperson's age and being able to easily "boss him around" — a fact Kimball alleges in his lawsuit — Waterman testified the comment "was made in the first interview when we asked (Gibbs) what it was about Mr. Epperson that he liked. We all said age shouldn't make a difference."

After the board emerged from a closed session Jan. 16, there was no mention of Gibbs. Moss made a motion to enter mediation with Kimball's attorney, then moved to create a subcommittee of commissioners to "advise" negotiations.

Gibbs has a clause in his contract that says he "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 were to fire Gibbs, he would receive a lump sum severance payment of nine months' pay, as well as nine months of health insurance. If he were to be terminated for cause, he would receive no severance, according to the contract.

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"To be clear, there is no scenario where the board's adverse conduct against Mr. Gibbs is not put under a microscope by a court of competent jurisdiction if it does not regain its senses and begin treating Mr. Gibbs with dignity," Davis wrote to Moss.

Gibbs' contract runs through Jan. 3, 2026.

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

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Ottawa County hires attorney to handle Gibbs' warning to Moss