Evan Cobb
A group of far-right local commissioners in Michigan who voted Tuesday night to defund the Ottawa County Health Department in retaliation against COVID measures, is now trying to terminate the department’s head.
Adeline Hambley, the current Health Officer leading the department, has been locked in litigation with the group of six commissioners who now hold the board majority. During an eight-hour board meeting held Tuesday evening, in which more than 60 people gave public comments, the board approved a budget that will dramatically reduce funding for the Ottawa County Department of Health, Hambley’s attorney received notice that Board Chair Joe Moss will try to terminate her next month.
Moss officially filed notice of his intention with the Ottawa County Clerk’s Office on Wednesday. In the filing, Moss said the decision about Hambley’s future would be made at a hearing on October 19th. He accused Hambley of “incompetence, misconduct and neglect of duty” and of making “false public representations” about the budget process.