Bay County library trustee Doug Stone resigns, alleges board mismanagement

Doug Stone, a trustee of the Bay County Library Board, submitted his resignation dated April 1, 2026, and the Bay County Board of Commissioners read the letter into the minutes at a special meeting April 7, 2026. The scheduled public hearing to consider his removal was canceled because Stone resigned.

In the letter read into the record, Stone wrote that "the board is comprised of mostly irresponsible people that have ever betrayed the public trust" and said the majority of the library board had voted to change its bylaws "to remove most of its responsibility and avoid any oversight." He also called the libraries "mismanaged and grossly overstaffed," and alleged that "Bay County spends 2 million more on staffing than Sagno County for the same four libraries" and "$1 million more on staffing than Moskegan County that staffs 11 10 libraries." The resignation concluded, "I resign my appointment from the Bay County Library Board of Trustees, Doug Stone."

A commissioner moved that the board receive Stone's resignation; the motion carried with no recorded opposition. The meeting record contains the resignation text and the board's action to receive it; it does not record any further response from the library board or a plan to fill the vacancy.

The resignation letter contains specific allegations about library governance and county staffing comparisons; the board did not take disciplinary action because the removal hearing was rendered unnecessary by the resignation. The board did not provide additional documents or factual corroboration for Stone's staffing figures during the meeting.

The commission proceeded to other agenda items; there was no public discussion or rebuttal to Stone's claims recorded in the meeting minutes. The resignation was received into the record, and the board carried on with its scheduled business.