Hambley termination hearing underway, will last into Wednesday

OTTAWA COUNTY — A termination hearing that will determine the fate of Ottawa County Administrative Health Officer Adeline Hambley began Tuesday, Oct. 24, with hours of witness testimony.

The hearing was allowed to move forward by Muskegon County 14th Circuit Court Judge Jenny L. McNeill, who said Monday she didn't have standing to intervene prior to the termination hearing taking place, but added Hambley has the right to seek relief in the courts after the board presumably removes her.

More: Judge: Removal hearing for Ottawa County health officer may proceed

Board Chair and Ottawa Impact Founder Joe Moss filed notice Sept. 27 that a removal hearing was planned for Hambley over allegations of "incompetence, misconduct and neglect of duty." Moss' allegations revolve largely around health department budget negotiations, which culminated in $4 million in board-orchestrated cuts and half a dozen layoffs for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1.

They include:

• Hambley demonstrated incompetence, misconduct and neglect of duty by making false public representations about budgetary scenarios.

• Hambley demonstrated incompetence, misconduct and neglect of duty by falsely claiming that she was not included in the budget process.

• Hambley demonstrated incompetence, misconduct and neglect of duty by failing to cooperate in the budget process.

• Hambley demonstrated incompetence, misconduct and neglect of duty by making false claims that encouraged and caused confusion, anxiety, fear and panic in the community.

The removal hearing is required by state law before the board can officially terminate Hambley from her position. Attorney Sarah Riley-Howard represented Hambley on Tuesday, and David Kallman of Kallman Legal Group represented the Ottawa County Board.

Retired Judge Thomas Brennan presided over the hearing, adding he was there to provide order, not to issue any rulings. Brennan said he wouldn't rule on any objections, but the parties were free to make objections for any future purpose where it may be relevant.

More: Witness list, details released for Ottawa County health officer removal hearing

During a recess Monday morning, Brennan indicated the hearing would last two days. He said seven witnesses would be called Tuesday, with officials breaking for the day around 5 p.m.

In her opening statement, Howard listed several objections to the hearing itself. She said notice of the hearing was inadequate and the charges were a “sham justification.”

“Are the charges a real reason for termination or a pretext for Officer Hambley? Do we have a sham justification? We believe that we do,” she said.

Howard went on to say Ottawa Impact-affiliated members of the board have sought to replace Hambley since before they were elected.

“We believe all evidence will show her termination is unsupported and unlawful under MCL 46.11,” Howard said.

Kallman waived his opening statement and declined to call any witnesses, instead pointing to exhibits provided and the charges as written.

Howard’s first witness was Ottawa County Clerk Justin Roebuck. She asked Roebuck about the previous board’s meeting on Dec. 13, 2022, when Hambley was approved for the role.

Roebuck said he wasn't at the meeting, but his deputy clerk, Rachel Sanchez, carried out his duties.

Howard read a court transcript of Kallman arguing the resolution hiring Hambley had been “prepared and signed in secret.” Roebuck refuted that claim, saying neither he nor his staff alter resolutions outside of providing a signature and listing the votes of the board.

Kallman, in response, pointed to the part of the transcript where he stated he wasn't “casting aspersions” on anyone.

“I was making it clear in that hearing I was not questioning you personally,” Kallman said. “Would you agree?”

“No, I would not agree with that,” Roebuck said, adding his office’s process was “clearly being questioned.”

Kallman said he was questioning the process, not Roebuck, and ended his cross examination.

Howard next called Marcie VerBeek, director of human resources for Ottawa County. Howard began by questioning VerBeek about negotiations with the recently formed union of health department employees.

According to VerBeek’s testimony, the first session of negotiations occurred Monday, Oct. 23. To her knowledge, Hambley was not invited to participate. VerBeek said it would be standard practice to have a department head.

Howard questioned VerBeek on the hiring process of several employees, including Hambley, Jordan Epperson and Cindy Driesenga. She also asked about the processing of information for Nathaniel Kelly after the board voted Jan. 3 to hire him to Hambley’s position.

VerBeek said Epperson was not initially included in the group of candidates to interview for the job he now holds, but was included at County Administrator John Gibbs’ request. That was true for a second round of interviews, as well. VerBeek and then-deputy administrator Patrick Waterman expressed concerns with hiring Epperson, she said, but Gibbs directed VerBeek to hire him anyway.

VerBeek said there'd been a drop in employee morale, particularly in the health department, since the current board took office. She said employees in the health department, in her opinion, were upset at the action taken to make Hambley the “interim health officer.”

Kallman asked VerBeek if the decision to hire an assistant to the county administrator (Epperson's position) should be left to Gibbs. VerBeek agreed it was Gibbs’ decision to make.

Howard’s third witness was finance director Karen Karasinski, who was questioned for more than an hour. Conversations focused on the budget process and communications between Gibbs and Hambley.

Howard referenced emails that showed the initial budget request from OCDPH was a flat general fund request.

Karasinski said she was aware of Hambley’s concerns that proposed cuts would leave the health department unable to operate and said that concern was “true and real.”

Howard asked Karasinski if public statements made by Hambley throughout the process were true. Karasinski said she couldn’t speak to all statements, but said “(Hambley) never said anything to me that I felt was inaccurate about where we were.”

Karasinski said she didn't recall receiving direction from Gibbs to protect funding for Ottawa Food, a point of particular contention during the budget approval process. Later, Kallman introduced an email from Gibbs to Karasinski and Myra Ocasio where Gibbs writes, “Please find a way to retain Ottawa Food and staffing, similar to what we did the the third epidemiologist position.”

More: 'A rush of fear': The human impact of Ottawa County's health department cuts

Howard said she'd never seen the email and noted no one from public health was included on it.

Kallman said there were other changes made late in the budget process, including funds for veterans affairs and the capital improvement plan.

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Nina Baranowski, fiscal services finance manager assigned to public health, was called as the fourth witness. Baranowski said there were delays in getting Gibbs’ authorization for fiscal year 2024 submissions, which led to several emails from both Baranowski and the state asking for compliance.

Baranowski said initial budget requests of a $2.5 million general fund allocation wouldn't meet minimum state requirements, leading to a loss of state funds. Losing those funds would require reductions in other areas.

She agreed the initial budget proposed by OCDPH was “very lean” and said “they did a good job” in building it.

The fifth witness of the day was environmental health manager William Spencer Ballard, who was on the stand for five minutes. He's been in his position for eight months, taking over for Hambley when she was named health officer. The two have worked together since 2009.

Ballard said he met with Hambley and Gibbs on Aug. 4, but there was no discussion of the budget during that meeting. He said, to his knowledge, that was the last time Gibbs and Hambley spoke directly.

Kallman questioned that response during cross examination, saying Ballard couldn't know every communication that happened between two other people. Ballard responded by saying that was to the best of his knowledge.

Former administrator John Shay was also among those set to testify Tuesday.

Howard said she expects the OI majority to vote to remove Hambley, with more litigation to follow.

— Contact Mitchell Boatman at mboatman@hollandsentinel.com. Contact executive editor Sarah Leach at sarah.leach@hollandsentinel.com.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Hambley termination hearing underway, will last into Wednesday