OTTAWA COUNTY, Mich. — The ongoing conflict in Ottawa County between county leadership and the health department's health officer continues.
Adeline Hambley says her department has been cut out of the budget process altogether. This comes after county administrator John Gibbs ordered Hambley to cut the health department's budget to pre-pandemic levels.
Hambley says the proposal from Gibbs would make cuts to all public health programs. She says this will not allow her department to provide necessary services to the public, and may cause the department to close.
In a press release Wednesday night, Hambley detailed the ongoing conflict, saying Ottawa County Fiscal Services is now creating a new Public Health budget at the direction of Gibbs.
The Ottawa County general fund contribution to public health will be $3.8 million, of which $1.3 million is from the public health fund balance.
Hambley previously requested $6.7 million.
Earlier this week, Hambley said county administrators blocked her from using the health department's social media pages and email.
"It's my duty to, you know, protect the health and public health in our community. And that is also to inform. And I think it's really important that the community realizes or understands that it's informing them of what's happening for potential impacts to them. And that truly public health is for everyone, and there are no exceptions," Hambley said.
In a statement earlier this week, Gibbs and Ottawa County Board Chair Joe Moss called Hambley's actions "political spectacle".
They say the goal is to return the budget to what it was before the pandemic. Commissioners in favor of cuts have said it is in the interest of fiscal responsibility.
Gibbs says the cuts will not result in the end of mandated services and especially not the closure of the health department, as Hambley has claimed.
Commissioners are expected to finalize a budget during a public hearing on Sept. 12.
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