The motion introduced by board chair Joe Moss restricts the authority of administrator John Gibbs immediately and indefinitely.
“Applies to proposed hires and transfers by the Ottawa county administrator effective immediately.”
Gibbs did not comment or object to limits on his power because he did not attend the board meeting Tuesday. Commissioner Jacob Bonnema wanted to know why.
“Has anybody seen him today? I don’t know. Feel free to go check if you would like. At your suggestion I did walk back there, I spoke to staff. He is not in the building and has not been in the building today.”
The board also narrowly appropriated $100,000 to hire a consultant to help Gibbs with strategic planning, although commissioner Roger Berman says previous administrators did the planning themselves.
“We have got an administrator who can’t do his job.”
But Commissioner Allison Miedema supports hiring an outside planning consultant.
“To get different eyeballs on things.”
Gibbs was the Donald Trump backed candidate who defeated Grand Rapids Congressman Peter Meijer in the 2022 Republican Primary. He was hired in Ottawa County after losing to democrat Hillary Scholten in the general election.
“We are going to need to work with our administrator and no one in the building knows where he is.”
