Hundreds rally to support embattled Ottawa County health department

HOLLAND, MI – As Ottawa County Department of Public Health employees left work Wednesday evening, they were greeted by cheers, clapping and shouts of support from hundreds of residents.

Some workers teared up. A few were hugged by some in the crowd. Chants of “We support you” rang through the air.

“The love and the care and the support is incredible,” Marcia Mansaray, the department’s deputy health officer, said as she teared up.

“I’m so grateful that they would take time out of their lives and busy days and come to show what it means to them to have a health department here and to preserve the services that most people don’t notice when they’re working.”

More than 300 people gathered Wednesday evening, Sept. 6, outside the department’s Holland office at 12251 James St. for a rally to show support for the county’s public health agency. The department is facing significant budget cuts in the upcoming fiscal year from the county’s far-right leadership.

Related: Ottawa County leaders backtrack on massive cuts to health department budget

The crowd packed the office’s front lawn and lined the roadway. Vehicles on busy James Street honked their horns as they passed by. People gathered signatures for an ongoing recall effort against one of the Ottawa Impact members on the county board.

Many held signs, with some saying “We (heart) OCHD,” “Public health is a common good,” “Revenge politics makes me sick,” “No cuts / We (heart) public health,” “Fully fund health department / Slash budget for corporate counsel” and more.

“Our message today is that we support the excellent service our health department has provided,” said Kim Nagy, interim executive director of Ottawa Integrity PAC.

“We want no cuts. We want to show our support to the people in this building, and that is our entire message.”

The rally was organized by Ottawa Integrity PAC, Zeeland Area Action Council and Progressive Lakeshore, which are groups opposed to Ottawa Impact, the far-right ruling majority on the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners.

A number of speakers Wednesday talked about the variety of services offered by the health department and their importance, with some sharing stories about how the department personally helped them and their families.

Rob Davidson, an emergency room physician who ran an unsuccessful congressional bid as a Democrat in 2018 against U.S. Congressman Bill Huizenga, R-Zeeland, called on rally attendees to beat Ottawa Impact at the ballot.

“If that person comes out and they are talking about good governance and the good use of county dollars and supporting public health and that person can take out someone like Joe Moss, can take out someone like Gretchen Cosby — who said she was a nurse, but I just don’t buy it,” Davidson said.

“If you find that person who can do that, and you can put aside the parts of that person’s platform that you maybe don’t agree with all the way, that is where we need to be in Ottawa County this year and next year.”

Davidson was referring to Moss, the county board chair and leader of Ottawa Impact, and Cosby, an Ottawa Impact county commissioner. Cosby has worked as a nurse and in the healthcare industry.

The county health department, and its leadership, have been a target of Ottawa Impact county commissioners since they took power in January.

Late last month, Ottawa County Administrator John Gibbs ordered the health department to create a new proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year with general fund allocations reduced by about 61%, from $6.4 million initially proposed by the department to $2.5 million.

Moss, who suggested the reduction to $2.5 million, said it would return the department to pre-COVID levels of spending.

But the department’s leader, Health Officer Adeline Hambley, claimed such a budget reduction would cause the department to close its doors within two months at best.

Related: ‘Fear-mongering tactics’: John Gibbs, Joe Moss blast criticism of health department budget cuts

On Tuesday, Gibbs walked back the severity of cuts he would impose on the department. He is proposing to reduce the department’s general fund allocations to $4.35 million, which is about 33% less than what Hambley originally proposed.

“We came to this budget process lean, like really lean already, without staff and now we’re asked to cut more,” Mansaray said Wednesday.

“We are already at the level, the minimal serviceable level, to still be able to do a decent job. And so if we cut more, that’s definitely at risk and people are going to be at risk.”

Hambley told commissioners Tuesday that Gibbs’ proposed budget would still result in reduced services and programs.

Holland resident Tim Staal, holding a sign that read “Cut legal fees not healthcare,” attended the rally and said he was concerned that reduced health department services would lessen the quality of life in the county, especially for vulnerable populations.

“Public health is just so important,” Staal said. “We live in a country where our government is supposed to be by the people, for the people. For the people means public health, it means promote the general welfare.”

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