MI: Long-simmering battle over public health comes to a head in Ottawa County
A political showdown in Michigan's Ottawa County has moved into the national spotlight, after the county’s deeply conservative political leaders instructed the public health officer to cut the county’s contribution to her office’s budget in half.
Writing on the department’s Facebook page, embattled health officer Adeline Hambley said such cuts are “ridiculous” and warned they would “significantly impair, and likely eliminate” health services.
Late Thursday, Hambley wrote in a follow-up post that the proposed cuts “will almost certainly close the health department within weeks of its implementation,” adding that county leaders are attempting “to achieve political victory over COVID-19 at the expense of Ottawa County citizens.”
County leaders’ repeated attacks — stemming from the health office’s enforcement of vaccine and safety mandates during the pandemic — has led the National Association of County and City Health Officials and the Michigan Association of Local Public Health to enter the legal battle over Hambley’s future. The organizations filed an amicus brief on her behalf.
Hambley has been fighting to keep her job since the new leaders took office in January. Thanks to a court order, she has managed to hold onto the post for now.
https://www.bridgemi.com/michigan-health-watch/long-simmering-battle-over-public-health-comes-head-ottawa-county