Jeremy Root, the former chairman of Shiawassee County Board of Commissioners, will remain on the board, though no longer as its leader.
The board held a vote on July 15 to use $500,000 of federal COVID relief funds to award county employees “hazard pay” bonuses of at least $1,000. The vote by Republican commissioners was 6-0 in favor.
Reactions to the bonuses among the commissioners were split, with some for and others against. One commissioner, Marlene Webster, said she hadn’t realized the bonuses would also be given to commissioners, according to WEYI.
“I was furious because I felt like I had been blindsided. I would never have voted to give myself more than twice what county employees received. I made immediate arrangements to have the funds withdrawn from my account in the form of a cashier’s check,” Webster said.
For more reporting from the Associated Press, see below:
Root’s resignation as chairman of a county board in Michigan is the latest fallout from his decision to give himself a $25,000 bonus with federal COVID-19 relief money and reward others in the community.
“This whole county government needs major reform. The integrity of the board is gone. There is no way to return it,” Daniel Law of Owosso said during a rare Sunday meeting that attracted more than 200 residents.
Root did not attend the meeting, but his resignation letter was read to the public.
Root and fellow Commissioner Cindy Garber, who got $5,000, defended the bonuses.
Commissioners reversed course on July 23 and said they would return the money. Separately, a judge last week ordered the county to recover any bonus that exceeded $5,000 after a lawsuit claimed commissioners violated open meetings law when the money was approved.
