Ottawa County, MI (WGHN) – A local attorney has filed a motion for a temporary restraining order preventing funds of about $850,000 from leaving the county’s treasure chest.
According to Ottawa News Network, on December 16th, Attorney Sarah Riley-Howard filed for a temporary restraining order that, if granted, would prevent a contract for $563,000 funds to Chester Township to “revitalize” Crockery Lake over the next five years was seemingly a sudden and contentious decision with little public process.
Howard is also is challenging a pair of separation agreements with the county’s interim administrator and administrative executive aide claiming the county board violated Michigan’s Open Meetings Act in multiple ways.
Interim Administrator Benjamin Wetmore will receive one year of pay of $175,000 — after receiving a pay increase on Oct. 16.
Executive Aide Jordan Epperson will receive at least five months of pay ($33,974.20) as well as a lump sum payment of $75,000, totaling $108,974.20; his employment also will end at the end of the year, the sources said.
Howard is representing Port Sheldon Township resident Dan Zimmer and says in the combined filing, Ottawa Impact commissioners on the board approved the agreements because they were rewarding supporters and loyalists before losing their majority at the beginning of 2025.
The filing, which asks that the decisions be invalidated, marks the seventh lawsuit the current board has faced in the two-year term that began on Jan. 3, 2023.
More here.
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