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Residents split over Ottawa County motto as dozens speak during public comment
Summary
Eighteen registered speakers addressed the board during a long public-comment period that focused largely on whether to keep or remove the county motto. Speakers ranged from veterans and civic leaders to social-service advocates and residents citing COVID-era policy impacts.
Dozens of residents used the meeting's public-comment window to press commissioners on the county motto and related governance questions. Speakers who supported keeping "Where Freedom Rings" framed it as a defense of liberty, parental rights and traditional values; others said the phrase had been weaponized and urged its removal to reduce harm and exclusion.
For example, a Park Township resident characterized pandemic-era public-health measures as an affront to freedoms and urged commissioners to "let freedom ring." By contrast, Barbara Lee Van Horsten of the Momentum Center urged commissioners to preserve funding and called the mental-health millage a local "lifeline," asking the board to focus on renewing support for community-based services.
The board heard about 18 registered speakers in the first comment period and several additional speakers in a second session later in the meeting. Comments referenced past board actions, DEI-related disputes dating to 2017–2023, and concerns about process—several speakers asked that any future motto decision be based on broader public engagement or included in strategic planning.
Commissioners heard both personal testimonies (mental-health services saved lives) and political arguments (motto signals to businesses and residents). The range of testimony helped frame the subsequent board debate and final vote to eliminate the motto.
