OTTAWA COUNTY, Mich. — Controversy continues when it comes to Ottawa County's embattled health officer. The county is now filing with the Michigan Supreme Court as it continues to argue Adeline Hambley isn't the health officer.
This comes after the Michigan Appeals Court ruled she is just that more than a month ago.
"The Court of Appeals ruled about a month ago, that upheld Judge McNeill. So, we've appealed that ruling because we think it's wrong. And so we appealed to the Michigan Supreme Court. We'll see what happens," Ottawa County Corporate Counsel Attorney David Kallman said.
As that dispute continues, FOX 17 is getting a look at new court documents. 46 pages show the county denying any final agreement on a $4 million offer for Hambley to resign.
Ottawa Co. appeals health officer ruling to Michigan Supreme Court by WXMI on Scribd
"We didn't send an offer, she (Sarah Howard, Hambley's attorney) asked us to send her an email about her offer to us. So, when you understand the difference there, that was never an offer from us. We were putting down in writing what she told us they wanted to do. And we were trying to make sure we all had the same terms," Kallman explained.
Ottawa County's corporate counsel, the Kallman Legal Group, says this was a tentative deal.
Kallman says the board of commissioners never agreed to a final settlement, saying instead the vote they made in early November was regarding "settlement activities."
"It's ongoing discussions, it's talking, it's giving documents and things back and forth. It doesn't say we accept a proposed settlement," David added.
In one of the exhibits by Howard, we see an email exchange between Howard and attorney Stephen Kallman of the legal group.
One where it briefly lays out a tentative settlement before the November 6 vote took place. David says the board didn't know about this email exchange before their vote.
Hambley has been in deadlock in this lawsuit for nine months after the board's majority voted to demote her after the commissioners took office back in January.
Since then, Hambley has been the center of contention since informing the public about proposed budget cuts in which she said the reductions would have closed the health department in a matter of weeks.
Hambley is facing charges of incompetence, misconduct, and neglect of duty in relation to alleged conduct during the budget process
Chairperson Joe Moss brought on those charges, and for more than a month now, Hambley has been the subject of removal hearings.
A discussion happened between the two attorneys in hopes of moving on from this situation.
Howard offered to allow Hambley to stay on and for the county to pay her legal fees of around $80,000 and drop her lawsuit against the county.
Days later, new offers were made during a closed session, where documents obtained by FOX 17 Wednesday show at one point, the proposed settlement amount was double what it is now.
"So, how do we go from eight to four?"
"We had discussions all through the day. And, you know, attorney Howard would go back and talk to her client, and they come back with a lower offer. We'd have more discussions. They'd go back, and they came back with a lower offer. I mean, it's settlement discussions. That's the way it goes.
FOX 17 did reach out to Howard for comment on the new paperwork. She tells us there was an exchange of offers with defendants and that she was still reviewing the brief submitted by Ottawa County.
The court hearing over the proposed settlement is on Monday.
