OTTAWA COUNTY — Did Ottawa County Council members violate their own contract and purchasing policies when they chose to hire W Solutions for help in their administrator search? Several commissioners say yes.

On Tuesday, Nov. 12, the board voted to approve the first reading of the contracting and procurement policy revisions submitted by the planning and policy committee earlier this month.

Commissioner Doug Zylstra, one of two Democrats on the board, expressed concern about the first paragraph of the amendment, which states: “All contracts for all county-funded departments, agencies and activities shall be subject to this policy. This policy will not interfere with the independent authority of county councils created by law or constitutionally, although all are encouraged to align themselves with its principles for the benefit of efficiency and best practice.”

Zylstra said the two sentences conflict because the county board is itself funded by the county and therefore should adhere to the policy.

Jack Jordan of the Kallman Legal Group deferred to his colleague’s concern, who said the addition to the policy was for clarity and consistency because the board technically has independent authority.

When Zylstra asked for more clarification, KLG members said the board was an exception to the policy. They argued that the added clause is not unusual.

“As I recall, concerns about these two policies arose fairly early in our tenure,” Vice President Sylvia Rhodea said. “These long-standing policies are in need of review and have been waiting for you to have the time and ability. to look at them. This is not (rushing) … these are policies that need attention for a long time.”

Work on the changes began in July 2023 under former administrator John Gibbs as commissioners tried to speed up the process of advancing contracts.

The vote to move the policy on second reading was approved 7-4, with Zylstra and Commissioners Chris Kleinjans, Rebekah Curran and Jacob Bonnema voting NO.

Zylstra had the same problem with a proposed change to procurement policywhich states: “This policy will be administered by the procurement division of the Department of Fiscal Services and is designed to provide a consistent framework for procurement activities across all (county-funded) units.

“However, this policy will not be binding or interfere with the independent authority of county councils created by law or constitutionally, although all are encouraged to align with its principles for the benefit of efficiency and best practice. If a conflict arises between this policy and any state or federal law or constitution, then the state or federal law or constitution will control.”

The procurement policy advanced 6-5, with Commissioner Bergman joining Curran, Zylstra, Kleinjans and Bonnema.

The board also ratified all contracts from Oct. 1-31, including a contract with recruiting firm W Talent Solutions. The vote passed 7-4, with Bergman, Zylstra, Kleinjans and Bonnema again voting no.

“We have a procurement policy that describes in pretty simple terms what a contract looks like, what a bidding process looks like, and at the heart of it is competitiveness,” Zylstra said. “I’m not convinced, and I think a lot of people aren’t convinced, that the process was competitive.”

Board president Joe Moss said the board authorized the creation of a transition executive committee consisting of himself, Rhodea, Gretchen Cosby, Allison Miedema and Roger Belknap — all affiliated with the Ottawa Impact — to do things like select a recruiting firm. Zylstra said he was not questioning their authority, but their failure to adhere to the policy.

“I recognize that you have a dispute and a difference of opinion and you don’t like how the process was handled,” Moss said, followed by Zylstra asking if Moss believed the process described in the policies was followed. Moss said yes.

Bergman asked if a request for proposals, a policy requirement, had been issued. Moss argued that a request for proposals is not required for a contract like W Talent Solutions, but did not cite where it was outlined in council policy.

Jordan did not directly respond to claims that the contract did not follow the policy.

Ottawa County administration has experienced significant turnover over the past two years. On January 3, 2023, the Ottawa Impact commissioners fired former administrator John Shay, who had been on the job for seven months, and hired Gibbs. There was no interview process and no other candidates were presented.

Gibbs worked for 13 months before being fired in February and has been working ever since sued for wrongful termination. The board fired Gibbs “for cause” after now-interim Trustee Benjamin Wetmore and Deputy Trustee Jordan Epperson made allegations that Gibbs acted inappropriately and neglected his job duties.

Gibbs denied those allegations, saying the board retaliated against him for questioning the competence of KLG, also hired in January 2023.

The Ottawa Impact commissioners have been aggressive in their search for a new administrator since the first resignation of former interim Jon Anderson, although the selected candidate cannot be given a contract longer than one year under state law.

The board created the Transition Executive Committee, which wasted no time in selecting a recruitment agency. During the first meeting of the committee, which lasted three days and adjourned three times, the members voted 5-0 to choose W Talentthe only company proposed. W Talent was supported by Moss.

The majority of the board declined to add discussion to the Transitional Executive Committee on the regular agenda.

— Cassidey Kavathas is a political and judicial reporter for The Holland Sentinel. Contact her at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @cassideykava.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Did the commissioners violate their own policy in hiring W Talent Solutions?