Northern Mich~Mash Preserve
HEALTH DEPARTMENT
AND
~ COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH DEPARTMENT ~
~ PUBLICLY SPEAKING ~
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ECBOC = Emmet County Board of Commissioners (Minutes~Legal Documents)
ECBOC = Emmet County Board of Commissioners (Minutes~Legal Documents)
During and following COVID-19 in 2022 and 2023, the Health Department of Northwest Michigan which includes four counties; Emmet, Antrim, Gaylord and Charlevoix... showed various conflicting opinions/actions, sometimes politically oriented. This resulted in the Health Department Administrator Peacock resigning, then proceeding to sue Emmet County for over $200,000.00. Many conflicts followed within the Health Department, and locally for Emmet County Commissioners. The minutes for various meetings can be researched on the Emmet County web site, and also on the Health Department of Northwest Michigan web site.
MY Comments below were stated 18 May 2023 at the Emmet County Board of Commissioners' meeting
during public comment time:
during public comment time:
"My comments are not meant to disparage any of the important public health services that are performed by our Health Department of Northwest Michigan. We all acknowledge from personal connections and recent public comments that their contributions have been many.
In past years, however, the health department employees and staff seemed to be who were directing the finances and policies for the health department, just as they wished… without much outside input, either from the public, nor even from the Health Boards… boards which do exist according to MI law… it is that law, along with a set of local bylaws, that prescribe the “ruling powers and duties of the health boards and committees”.
The pandemic effects, however, changed the public’s public health expectations; especially because we live in a representative democracy where officials represent the citizens' ideas and concerns in government. So, now, it does appear that the present health board members who come from elected positions are listening to the public, and voicing various perspectives, as well as addressing the county health department’s needs.
The health board members are first elected county commissioners, and then appointed, and finally, confirmed, as health board officials. They are in positions; whether in committees, or in the main meetings, that require them to consider seriously the health department’s possible revenue (whether the funds are grants, or more direct taxpayer dollars)… they must consider the actual origins of the funds… like 1) who, or what group provides the funds and what is the group’s own mission, and 2) exactly how those funds will be spent within the health department, once the funds might be approved; not just accepting funding as IF it is FREE-“no strings attached” money. Strings such as those included by the recent possible food grant overseers…overseers called “The Groundwork Center for Resilient Communities”. Their spokesman in today’s Petoskey News Review, publicly stated their mission includes “Critical Race Theory” and various other priorities which presently are politically divisive. That issue rightfully was considered in evaluating the declined grant.
I feel the present health board members certainly are trying to represent the public, with oversight of the health department in the manner as is their responsibility according to the law, and I thank them."
~ Karla Buckmaster
In past years, however, the health department employees and staff seemed to be who were directing the finances and policies for the health department, just as they wished… without much outside input, either from the public, nor even from the Health Boards… boards which do exist according to MI law… it is that law, along with a set of local bylaws, that prescribe the “ruling powers and duties of the health boards and committees”.
The pandemic effects, however, changed the public’s public health expectations; especially because we live in a representative democracy where officials represent the citizens' ideas and concerns in government. So, now, it does appear that the present health board members who come from elected positions are listening to the public, and voicing various perspectives, as well as addressing the county health department’s needs.
The health board members are first elected county commissioners, and then appointed, and finally, confirmed, as health board officials. They are in positions; whether in committees, or in the main meetings, that require them to consider seriously the health department’s possible revenue (whether the funds are grants, or more direct taxpayer dollars)… they must consider the actual origins of the funds… like 1) who, or what group provides the funds and what is the group’s own mission, and 2) exactly how those funds will be spent within the health department, once the funds might be approved; not just accepting funding as IF it is FREE-“no strings attached” money. Strings such as those included by the recent possible food grant overseers…overseers called “The Groundwork Center for Resilient Communities”. Their spokesman in today’s Petoskey News Review, publicly stated their mission includes “Critical Race Theory” and various other priorities which presently are politically divisive. That issue rightfully was considered in evaluating the declined grant.
I feel the present health board members certainly are trying to represent the public, with oversight of the health department in the manner as is their responsibility according to the law, and I thank them."
~ Karla Buckmaster
During the Public Hearing for Code of Ethics and Conduct portion of the 11 September 2023 Emmet County Board of Commissioners [ECBOC] meeting, the board voted during a Code of Ethics Violation to remove Rich Ginop from the the Board of the Health Department of Northwest Michigan. This culmination was instigated by the Health Department’s not liking the vote to not pursue a particular grant that the Health Department wanted. Interestingly, Commissioner Ahrens stepped up to replace Ginop, after Ahrens telling how Ahrens had helped to promote the original Code of Ethics from 2018, and what an upright, ethical person Ahrens considered himself. Consider the following, however, which Ahrens did not tell of his 2018 behavior as a commissioner, inside the county board room.
In 2018 it was common practice that ECBOC meetings were being recorded, and sometimes the recorder was not shut off exactly at the end of the meeting… so ongoing conversations of commissioners AFTER the meeting were often recorded. The recording was FOIA’d, and still exists in the form of a disc recording, for the Committee of the Whole 9 July 2018 transit meeting picking up an after-meeting conversation between Commissioners Scheel and Ahrens referring to the loud clapping of the transit supporters (music to the ears of Ahrens and Scheel), and the commissioners can clearly be heard saying, “I hope everybody who was clapping their hands tonight remembers what I said,” AND “I wanted to say so badly. 'You will vote for me now, right?'" and then said, “That’s a ‘BLANK’-load of votes”, only he didn’t say, ‘BLANK’. So, what was more important? Transit service, or being reelected as commissioner in the soon to be upcoming election? Even the Petoskey news Review article reporting about the commissioners’ public transit votes recognized and aptly stated… “The election-year (yes, election year) move was propelled by comments from commissioners regarding the role the current board members could play in shaping the future of Emmet County.”
So, just what does Commissioner Ahrens consider ethical or unethical?
~ Karla Buckmaster