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Residents and staff press St. Clair County commissioners for independent probe before approving medical director contract
Summary
Dozens of residents and county health staff described alleged threats, retaliation and policy failures tied to the county medical director and urged an independent human-resources review and a pause on the contract; commissioners moved and later approved the contract despite calls to delay.
Public comment at a St. Clair County Board of Commissioners meeting focused heavily on workplace complaints about the county's medical director and calls for an independent review before the board finalized his contract.
Multiple speakers asked the board to delay final action until an impartial review could evaluate allegations of harassment, threats and retaliation. "This serious detailed complaint is currently under investigation while you consider a contract that would grant the medical director additional compensation and expanded authority," said Kristen Hayes, who described multiple employees' concerns and said some staff were afraid to come forward. Katie Pringle, who said she and 12 colleagues chose to come forward despite anonymity risks, urged the board to ensure submitted documents are included in the official meeting record and to investigate alleged retaliation.
Other commenters pointed to HR and FOIA evidence. "The FOIA emails from early July show the medical director was not interested in sharing information regarding our county's current status with cyclospora," Dorothy Yope said, citing Michigan statutory language (MCL 333.2433 and MCL 333.2473) on public-health duties. Several speakers paraphrased language from an internal HR report the county released, including an assessment that the director's conduct was "untenable long term," and called for stronger protections for employees.
Not all public comment urged delay. Angie Dufresne, a resident of Fort Gratiot, urged the board to support the medical director, saying he had helped residents on a local project and that formal proof should precede punitive measures. "All of these accusations...they shouldn't be in the meeting minutes, not until it's proven," Dufresne said.
The board did not make an on-the-record change to its timeline for addressing the medical director's contract during public comment. The range of comments—some urging immediate dismissal, others urging due process and continued support—framed the debate commissioners considered later in the meeting.
