There was a public hearing held by the Board of Commissioners this week. The purpose was to allow county residents an opportunity to give feedback on the budget the board has been working on these last months. The budget determines how Ottawa County will spend money from taxpayers and grants (which also come from taxpayer money), as well as funding from the state and federal governments.

By going through a budget process every year, the board is made aware of how departments use and spend money and with which organizations the departments are partnering.

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Some of those associations have been called out by commissioners not wanting to align the county with organizations that conduct themselves contrary to Executive Orders. For instance, in March, Commissioner Sylvia Rhodea questioned whether the board should be accepting a MALPH (Michigan Association of Local Public Health) grant. She said that MALPH is a state level association of NACCHO which champions DEI and health equity as well as pushes for medical consent to come from minors and a radical sex ed. She and those commissioners who agreed were out voted and the grant was accepted.

So, even though residents who care whether the county is following Executive Orders can be assured there are commissioners diligently going through contracts, grants, and funding, the concerns of those commissioners often have not received the majority vote.

These are the deliberations and conversations that have culminated into the budget proposal for 2026. And while all commissioner meetings have a time for public comment, Tuesday, September 2, was a public hearing held for that purpose. Residents were invited to add feedback to the budget proposal—the spending of their money—before the proposal becomes final. Knowing that, one might assume the meeting was packed, or at least well attended. It was not. The hearing was opened and closed within minutes because there were no public comments to be had. For those who didn’t know they had the opportunity to voice an opinion on how their money is spent, there’s always next year.

Also on the agenda was the plan for the County Administrator interviews. The person currently filling the role, Gary Rosema, explained that the names of the five applicants would be released first thing in the morning on Monday, September 8. Following, the Citizen Work Group will conduct interviews throughout the day—three will be interviewed in the morning, two in the afternoon. Several commissioners balked at the late release of the names. They wanted time for constituents to give them feedback. After much back and forth the commissioners were able to push the release to Friday, the 5th, probably (they don’t want to risk any candidate not ready for the big reveal).

As for the interviews the board will lead, there was some uncertainty about the end goal. Some commissioners preferred to narrow the five applicants to the top two or three, and also to have a couple of days after the interviews to allow for feedback from their constituents. Others seemed to want to move it along and just pick the person already. Commissioner Phil Kuyers encouraged the board to finish the process by the weekend. A decision wasn’t made since Brugger thought Teeples should be part of the conversation.

When it came to the discussing the interviews to be conducted by the Citizen Work Group, there were complaints from commissioners who hadn’t been included in selecting the members. Commissioner Josh Brugger, who was filling in for the absent Chair John Teeples, shut down the complaints saying the board already had discussed the matter and the names were not going to be changed.

Commissioner Rhodea asked if the interviews with the Citizen Work Group would be given public notice since it will be a meeting open to the public. Ron Franz, the Interim Deputy Director, had been told it wasn’t necessary but would get that response in writing to be sure. Commissioner Joe Moss told Commissioner Brugger that he didn’t want it to be a “fake open meeting,” and that the board should just notice it. Both Rhodea and Moss made noticing sound fairly simple, leaving observers to wonder why the board wouldn’t just do it rather than be unsure. The decision to notice was left in the air.

With it still to be determined whether the Citizen Work Group interviews will be noticed, if the board interviews will narrow the list or select a finalist, and how much time will be given for the final decision following the board interviews, it will be a "stay tuned" kind of week.

Making the right hire is critical and could be seen as one of the most important tasks these commissioners will take on in their term.

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The County Administrator position oversees the county’s $300 million budget, 1200 county employees, and all the county department heads, significantly guiding county culture and impacting service costs. As a community, we need to support, give feedback, and perhaps hold accountable our commissioners as they make this decision.

To hear what each commissioner is looking for in a county administrator, you may listen to individual comments given at a recent meeting.

If you are able to attend or watch online, here are the dates for the interviews:

Monday, September 8: Citizen Work Group interviews.
Wednesday, September 10: Board of Commissioner interviews.