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According to multiple sources with direct knowledge of the situation, the severances were approved because both employees allegedly said they would pursue legal action against the county.
A former administrator for Ottawa County was not able to convince a federal court judge that his former employer retaliated against him for exercising his First Amendment right to free speech.
At a Monday meeting, board Chair Joe Moss announced that Sparta Village Manager Jim Lower, the last remaining top finalist in the county’s search, had withdrawn.
Freed said he spoke to Moss on Wednesday — the day after his interview, but one day before the executive search committee met — which could be an Open Meetings Act violation.
Just hours after Ottawa County announced it had narrowed down its county administrator to two finalists, one of them publicly withdrew from the process.
Ottawa County is inching toward appointing a new county administrator — its fifth in the past two years.
Cramer’s lawsuit claimed Moss endorsed “a particular set of religious beliefs and excluded a particular set of religious beliefs" and therefore "discriminated against certain religious beliefs."
Residents are inching closer to having that information made public, as the Michigan Court of Appeals granted a motion filed in February by The Sentinel to unseal testimony from Clerk Justin Roebuck.
In the general election, Jorritsma earned 6,556 to Kleinjans’ 6,319 — a difference of just 237 votes.
