On Monday April 22, 2024, former Board of Light and Power (BLP) General Manager David Walters, through his attorneys Smith Haughey Rice & Roegge, filed a complaint and demand for jury trial in Ottawa County Circuit Court against the BLP, as well as BLP board member Andrea Hendrick and Grand Haven City Council member Ryan Cummins in their individual capacities.
The complaint alleges Walters’ termination was a retaliatory action taken by the BLP board after he raised concerns over actions taken by the BLP board and individual board members, and that he should have been protected under the Whistleblower Protection Act (WPA). His complaint alleges “the BLP and its individual members were not acting in accordance with the City Charter, the BLP’s by-laws, state and federal laws, and other regulations, and orders.” It alleges actions such as misleading social media posts and statements to the public interfered with and disrupted his performance. The complaint alleges the board violated Walters’ contract by not conducting annual performance appraisals in accordance with his employment agreement, and that the BLP board violated the Open Meetings Act (OMA) when they terminated his employment.
The complaint describes a long series of events going back to the fall of 2020 when “the Grand Haven Energy Organization (GHEO) was founded and began actively opposing BLP actions.” In late 2022, the GHEO evolved into a group called the Board of Light and Power Charter Change Coalition (BLPCCC) which was responsible for originating a proposal placed on the November 2023 ballot that sought to place the BLP under control of the City of Grand Haven, thereby eliminating the position of General Manager. Some BLP board members and Grand Haven City Council members were actively involved or supportive of these organizations. The complaint states that “individual City Council members were a driving force behind the charter amendment proposed by the Coalition.”
Here is a broad summary of key points outlined in the complaint.
Beginning in the fall of 2020, the GHEO which evolved into the BLPCCC, actively opposed the BLP. Some BLP board members and Grand Haven City council members were actively involved or supporters of these organizations.
In January 2022, Walters began “raising various contractual and legal concerns to the BLP and city attorney.”
The Grand Haven City Council removed the BLP’s access to independent legal representation in the spring of 2022.
Verifiably false and inaccurate statements and social media posts were made by individual BLP board members, city council members, the former Grand Haven City Manager, and the city attorney on an ongoing basis.
On June 7, 2023, Walters continued to raise concerns during a closed session performance appraisal. The concerns were not adequately investigated.
In September 2023, a BLP employee (not Dave Walters) raised allegations against the BLP as a whistleblower. The claims were fully investigated, found unsubstantiated, and had been politically motivated.
Just before the November 2023 election, in September 2023, a BLP employee (not Dave Walters as stated above) brought forth a whistleblower complaint with several allegations including that the BLP may have deleted emails to avoid responding to a FOIA request. A thorough independent investigation by Foster Swift, approved by the Grand Haven City Council, found the whistleblower complaint unsubstantiated. The investigative team interviewed approximately ten employees and sifted through over 200,000 emails, then produced a detailed summary of their findings which is included in Walters’ filing.
When Walters was terminated, the BLP board’s resolution stated “the BLP’s internal investigation concluded there was no basis for the General Manager’s claims,” but Walters claims his whistleblower concerns were never adequately addressed by the BLP board. In fact, after his surprise termination, Walters submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request seeking proof of the BLP board’s claim that they investigated his concerns. Contrary to the thorough investigation and report produced by the independent investigative team who looked into the BLP employee whistleblower allegations, Walters’ filing states that his FOIA request returned only the same documents that he had submitted.
After retiring, Walters had planned to perform consulting work in the power industry, but claims “due to the individual and collective acts of the defendants, Mr. Walters has suffered irreparable damage to his professional and personal reputation established through 35+ years of public service.” It further states that he has “suffered damages, including emotional distress, damage to his reputation, loss of earnings and benefits, damage to his earning capacity, and damage to his ability to find future employment.”