Creating a narrative is a powerful political tool that can be used to influence the opinions of busy Americans. It works by providing partial information. Most people do not have the time or interest to verify whether the information they are being given is true, and for decades have trusted the main stream media to perform this function for them. Coupled with providing partial information, citizens are told it is their civic duty to vote in elections. In recent years, it has become increasingly obvious how this technique is used to sway the opinions of many low-information voters. In this context, low-information isn’t meant to be a slight against a voter’s intelligence, but rather refers to the notion that everyday life activities can make it hard for some people to gather enough information on their own to make informed decisions.
During the September 26, 2023, Ottawa County Board of Commissioner meeting, it appears there were several attempts to create narratives. A main purpose of this meeting was to approve the FY 24 budget which had been in negotiation since August 1, 2023. During the meeting, as is his right, Commissioner Doug Zylstra made six different budget amendment motions.. His motions were seconded by Commissioner Roger Bergman, forcing discussion on the motions.
Here is a summary of his proposed resolutions. (4:41:00)
Cancel the proposed elimination of the ELC Epi Lab Grant for $1,246,340 and the MDHHS Workforce Development Grant for $345,213 (fourth epidemiologist position)
Fund communicable disease immunization and STD with general fund funding instead of grant funding for $541,166
Fund third epidemiology position that Administrator Gibbs talked about with an additional general fund transfer.
Transfer $300,000 from the general fund to public health education
Transfer $200,000 from the general fund to public health education earmarked specifically to Ottawa Food
Remove funding for the Ottawa Way Newsletter
All of the proposed budget amendment motions failed, but the discussions were interesting. Regarding the first motion, Ottawa County currently employs four epidemiologists. One of the epidemiologists was hired to handle issues related to COVID-19 and was paid for with grant money. Since the COVID pandemic is over, there is no need to continue funding for this position. Regarding the third motion, all three of the remaining epidemiologist positions are funded within the budget, so there was no need for the motion. The second motion regarding communicable disease immunization and STDs was also irrelevant, as these items were already funded within the budget.
In regards to narrative creation, the fourth motion seemed to be the most effective. The purpose given for the fourth motion was to support Ottawa Food, but it turns out that Ottawa Food is also supported within the budget. Nonetheless, there was an attempt made to show that some commissioners were not in favor of programs that supply food to needy families. The attempt was continued with the fifth motion, and the true purpose of the sixth motion was likely to prevent the board majority from communicating directly with constituents. During the discussion of the fourth motion, Commissioner Bonnema stated,
“Food insecurity is real, especially in times when we're seeing inflation on the rise. It's tough to feed a family right now. It takes more of the paycheck than it ever has. Here's the deal with Ottawa Food. Ottawa Food performs a logistical service to so many frontline food pantries all over the county. The frontline food pantries, many of them, are ministries, so for those of you that profess Christ as your lord and savior, you want those people to feel ministered to. In Zealand our frontline food pantry is his Harvest Stand Ministries. I spent time inside their facility. They do a fantastic job. They really do make every single donation go as far as it possibly can.
So, when we defund the mechanism that handles the behind-the-scenes transportation between the farms, and the frontline food pantries, and also which is an air a refrigerant truck, that's giving the most healthy options to our public, I'm talking about fresh fruits and vegetables. I'm talking about milk, meats, cheeses; things other than starches. Those are things that keep our community healthy. Those are things that people need. If you've never experienced real hunger, or seen your child really hungry, maybe you don't appreciate what that is. That is an open door to people to come in to sit down, and be counseled by other people that truly care for them, and want to spend their time caring for them. The government, the county in this case, is performing the behind-the-scenes role.
When Commissioner Bonnema was finished, Vice Chair Sylvia Rhodea explained that,
“through the ARPA initiatives, the county gave $468,675 to Health Food Access Expansion just this year. [] Ottawa Food and Community Action House will use these ARPA funds to expand the Lakeshore Food Rescue (LFR) operation county-wide. The LFR will purchase two new food rescue vehicles, supplies for storing and transporting food, buy and set up an app, and hire three additional staff members to assist in the expansion. Community Action House will be contracted to manage this expansion. ARPA funds will be used to cover 100% of expansion costs the first year, which I believe we're still in, and 50% the second year. After this initial push, Community Action House will sustain county-wide food rescue activities via Community Action House’s own fundraising efforts. By expanding the pilot, Ottawa Food estimates the program will provide recipients with wholesome food six days a week, adding up to a 100,000 pounds of food each month. The estimated market value of a 100,000 pounds at the current national average of a $1.70/lb is $170,000 or $2 million per year.”
Administrator Gibbs stated,
”there have been a lot of dramatic speeches about Ottawa Food being cut. Thankfully it's not true. Never once have I, director, or anyone, directed for Ottawa Food to be cut.” He then explained how the food program works. “For those who don't know, Ottawa Food is basically a collaboration of about 45 different groups in the area that do food related programs, and what the county pays for is a coordinator to coordinate those 45 groups. That coordination is going to continue.
[] Community Action Agency, has a pretty significant food program as well. They are more hands-on, bringing food directly to seniors. We have a senior program, and they have a program for those who are socio-economically disadvantaged as well. That is upwards of $300,000 or more a year that they put into that program. That's very significant.”
Chairman Joe Moss then pointed out the narrative.
“We don't make decisions based on news articles, or generalizations, or ‘give me my whole budget,’ you know that kind of thing. We look for data, not narrative-driven decision making. Some of the arguments I've heard just tonight sounded like, “if you're a Christian you'll vote for this.” That’s what it sounded like Commissioner Bonnema had said. He also used the phrase ‘when we defund the mechanism.’ We, I assume he means the board. The board is not defunding Ottawa Food. The board is providing a $14.397 million dollar budget.
[] He also said, if you've never experienced a hungry child, you can't understand the need. That's not true. You don't have to experience an awful situation to know that. [] We know there is a need, and given the proper information, and a $14 million budget, my hope is that that need would continue to be met. I also heard, ‘when people can't feed their children,’ and then a whole bunch of stuff, and results are horrible, we don't want that to happen in Ottawa County. Well that just sounds like fear-mongering to me.”
(5:08:54)
The finger is frequently pointed at the Ottawa Impact commissioners with accusations of not being transparent and pushing their ideals onto others, but to me, it appears the opposite is true. These new commissioners are working to make logical, data-driven decisions in the best interests of the people of Ottawa County.
If these food programs are already funded by the county, what was the purpose of the discussion other than setting up a false narrative?