EDITOR:

The February 7, 2023 Delta County Board meeting was a demonstration of how much our society needs to step back to where we treat others with respect in spite of differences of opinion.

The meeting showed us moving toward a belief in mob rule and away from the democratic process. We may vehemently disagree but disrupting the process of government isn’t the way to make your opinion known. Disrupting a meeting to the point where sheriffs were called in to maintain order is a disgraceful act.

Having observed the meeting in person, I believe that embarrassing those commissioners with whom she didn’t agree was DeSalvo’s intent.

Emily DeSalvo’s 10 minute address to the commissioners was a textbook example of resigning from a position by forcing your bosses to terminate you. Publicly attacking your bosses, especially when they are elected officials demonstrates that she was not supporting the interests of the county she was hired to serve.

As a county administrator it is a reasonable expectation that her words and actions be apolitical as her job is to serve the county, not just those she agrees with.

DeSalvo spoke of how she serves with integrity, but I have personal experience of her not doing so. I filed several FOIA requests regarding her pay as well as her department and disbursements to the county board along with other information. She spoke with me and had an exchange via email regarding my requests. The legal mandate for response to these requests remain unanswered, well past the legal deadline. These requests pertain directly to her, leading me to question whether her actions were intentional.

Not mentioned by DeSalvo’s defenders is that she was hired by the county in spite of her being weak in financial management, requiring the county to take on the additional expense of a comptroller to perform a significant part of her duties. Over the course of the three years she served, it’s reasonable to expect DeSalvo to work toward developing those skills so she could take over those duties and save the county taxpayers the expense of an additional salary to cover her shortcomings. I’m quite certain the county would have reimbursed her for any classes or training necessary to do so. One of my unanswered FOIA requests pertained to that matter.

In my opinion the firing was appropriate.

Reid Hyken

Escanaba