Since November 6, 2023, local media has run with the lie that Ottawa County had a $4 million settlement with Health Officer Adeline Hambley.

What happens during a closed session is not supposed to be discussed, but somehow local media found sources willing to speak. The Holland Sentinel reported they received information from “multiple sources with knowledge of the situation.” Fox 17 also ran with the “multiple sources” scenario, as did MLive.

Additionally, local media used false definitive claims such as: “agreed to pay,” “will now pay,” and “plans to settle.”

• “Ottawa County has agreed to pay its administrative health officer $4 million to step down…” —Holland Sentinel, November 8, 2023

• “[T]he county will now pay Hambley a total of $4 million to resign…” —Holland Sentinel, November 8, 2023

• “Ottawa Impact plans to settle Health Officer Adeline Hambley’s lawsuit against the county for $4.1 million next week…” —Holland Sentinel, November 12, 2023

• “On Monday, the county agreed to pay Hambley $4 million to step down…” —Holland Sentinel, November 12, 2023

Not to be left out of the drama in Ottawa County, Fox 17 Matt Witkos wrote on November 8, 2023: “Multiple sources confirm to Fox 17 that Ottawa County will pay $4 million to Health Officer Adeline Hambley.”

In many of the articles claiming “multiple sources,” Commissioner Jacob Bonnema is quoted.

The media ran its narrative repeatedly over the past few months, while Corporate Counsel and several commissioners continued to tell citizens that there was never a settlement and that a settlement was not what was voted on November 6, 2023.

On November 14, 2023, the closed session negotiations lasted seven hours. During that time Hambley asked for $8 million to resign. At the conclusion of the session, no agreement was met.

The next move made by Adeline Hambley and her lawyer, Sarah Howard, was to run to court in an attempt to force Ottawa County taxpayers to pay Hambley $4 million.

• November 16, 2023: Howard filed a motion to enforce the alleged agreement

• November 29, 2023: Howard filed two more motions, claiming the Board violated the Open Meetings Act because the motion was vague

• December 4, 2023: Judge Jenny McNeill determined the hearing could go on but that she would review the minutes from the closed session—minutes are what speak for the Board

All the while Howard filed motions and added onto lawsuits, the media continued the lie of a $4 million agreement and a narrative accusing the County of spending too much on legal fees.

On January 19, 2024, Kallman and members of the Board were back in court for the Hambley v. Ottawa County case.

• Kallman made a motion to cancel the evidentiary hearing, stating that the minutes to the closed session were sufficient to make a ruling

• Judge McNeill said she needed more information to make a ruling

• Judge McNeill closed the hearing, given that the testimony from the selected commissioners and County Clerk Justin Roebuck would be divulging information from the closed session which couldn’t legally be released to the public

• Roebuck took the stand first and his testimony was all that was needed

• Kallman again made a motion to cancel the hearing and the Judge agreed

• Judge McNeill ruled there was no agreement made on November 6, 2023, and the Board is not forced to pay Hambley $4 million. An agreement never existed.

David A. Kallman, of Kallman Legal Group, comments on the Ottawa County v. Hambley hearing.

The Ottawa County Commissioners and Judge McNeill would like to wrap up this case. The lawfare against the County must end.

• Mediation is scheduled for February 26, 2024

• All 11 Commissioners will be involved in mediation

There are processes in government that need to be followed. Unfortunately, lawfare was used in this case to slow the process down, wasting valuable taxpayer dollars. After this ruling the County can get back to the process it started.

Evidentiary Hearing: Hambley v. Ottawa County
January 19, 2024

14th Circuit Court
990 Terrace Street
Muskegon, MI 49442