OTTAWA COUNTY, MI -- Ottawa County has released audio from a 2024 closed session that some county commissioners say proves a former county leader gave misleading information to get an inflated severance for an exiting employee.

The county, as part of an agreement in a recently settled lawsuit, released minutes and audio Monday, Oct. 20, of a December 2024 closed session.

The session’s topic was whether to approve a severance agreement for administrative executive aide Jordan Epperson, who became a source of controversy in 2023 because he was hired over another more qualified candidate.

Information surfaced that then-Administrator John Gibbs wanted Epperson, just 23 at the time, over the other candidate because Epperson was someone he could “boss around.”

Epperson and former county

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