After gaining a controlling majority on the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners in January 2023, the far-right political organization Ottawa Impact (OI) enacted sweeping administrative, legal, and operational changes that critics, legal observers, and voters identified as major governance and policy failures.

Executive Hiring and High-Cost Dismissals

• The John Gibbs Hiring and Termination: On their first day, the board appointed former Trump administration official John Gibbs as County Administrator without an open search. Within 14 months, the board voted to fire Gibbs following internal disputes, allegations of workplace harassment, threats toward county legal counsel, and attempts to bypass official purchasing processes.
• Severance and Retaliation Costs: The firing of experienced administrative staff—including the abrupt dismissal of previous administrator John Shay and corporate counsel Doug Van Essen—resulted in significant unbudgeted severance packages and institutional brain drain.

Public Health Department Destabilization

• Attempted Removal of the Health Officer: The board attempted to demote and replace County Health Officer Adeline Hambley with an unqualified candidate, triggering a protracted lawsuit. The legal battle resulted in high taxpayer costs, court injunctions against the board, and a proposed $4 million settlement that collapsed into further litigation and public dispute.
• Proposed Budget Cuts to Core Services: The coalition attempted to slash the Ottawa County Department of Public Health budget by millions of dollars, putting state-mandated programs, disease surveillance, immunization clinics, and food safety inspections at risk before public backlash forced partial rollbacks.

Escalating Legal Liabilities and Frivolous Litigation

• Multiple Lawsuits and Legal Fees: OI leadership replaced standard legal counsel with Kallman Legal Group, a conservative private firm. County expenditures on external legal fees skyrocketed into millions of dollars across at least seven major lawsuits.
• Court Sanctions Over Opioid Settlements: The county was formally sanctioned by Michigan’s Third Circuit Court for filing frivolous legal challenges attempting to stall or redirect regional opioid settlement agreements.

Transparency and Open Governance Violations

• Pre-Planned Votes and Open Meetings Act (OMA) Scrutiny: During their inaugural meeting on January 3, 2023, the board introduced and passed massive structural motions that were absent from the published agenda. The Michigan Attorney General’s Office investigated the moves, describing the board’s lack of transparency and coordination prior to public swearing-in as “egregious”.
• Dismantling of Institutional Offices: The board dissolved the county’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Department without an impact assessment or public transition plan, while also attempting to modify county slogans and mission statements without community input.

Workforce Instability and Loss of Institutional Knowledge

• Staff Resignations and Low Morale: Key department heads, civil servants, health professionals, and legal personnel resigned due to political hostility and policy uncertainty.
• Erosion of County Reputation: Long recognized for stable fiscal stewardship and AAA bond ratings, Ottawa County’s administrative volatility created tension with state regulators, neighboring municipalities, and local business chambers.

These controversies led to significant internal fractures and a widespread electoral backlash, culminating in Ottawa Impact losing its controlling board majority in the 2024 primary and general elections.

Ottawa Impact’s Incompetence Cost Ottawa County a Lot of Money for Nothing

The governance decisions made by the Ottawa Impact (OI) majority between January 2023 and December 2024 resulted in at least seven major lawsuits, court-ordered sanctions, escalating outside attorney fees, and multiple direct settlements.

Direct legal fees, outside counsel retainers, settlements, and court penalties tied to OI-instigated disputes exceeded $2 million to $2.5 million in direct taxpayer costs.

Breakdown of Key Lawsuits & Settlements

Legal Action / Matter	Core Issue	Direct Settlement / Legal Cost Impact
Hambley v. Ottawa County Board	Attempted termination/demotion of Health Officer Adeline Hambley without statutory cause.	$368,000+ total litigation costs (including $188,179 in court-ordered plaintiff attorney fees) after an initial $4M resignation agreement collapsed.
Gibbs v. Ottawa County	Whistleblower and wrongful termination lawsuit filed by former Administrator John Gibbs following his firing.	$190,000 settlement approved by the county in early 2025 to conclude the lawsuit.
Kimball v. Ottawa County	Age discrimination lawsuit under the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act involving executive aide hiring.	$225,000 settlement paid via mediation and the county insurance authority.
Open Meetings Act & Media Access (e.g., The Holland Sentinel)	Lawsuits over closed-session minutes, lack of agenda transparency, and withheld public records.	Settled with the mandatory release of sealed closed-door meeting transcripts and associated attorney fees.
Opioid Settlement Litigation	Frivolous legal challenge attempting to redirect regional opioid settlement agreements.	Court Sanctions imposed against the county by Michigan’s Third Circuit Court.

External Legal Retainers & Operational Costs

• Kallman Legal Group Fees: On day one, the OI majority replaced longstanding corporation counsel with the private Kallman Legal Group. Within months, the firm depleted its initial $210,000 budget allocation and required multiple contingency transfers (e.g., additional $110,000+ increments), driving outside legal counsel expenditures well beyond prior historical averages.
• Specialized Litigation Counsel: Defending discrimination claims, administrative appeals, and federal/state complaints required hiring specialized third-party litigation defense firms and municipal insurance mediators on top of standard retainers.