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Ottawa County
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County Commissioner District 4· 2025-01-01–2028-12-31 (four-year term beginning January 1, 2025 and ending December 31, 2028 per MCL 46.410 and county Board of Commissioners page listing 01/01/2025 - 12/31/2028)

Jacob Bonnema

Ottawa County

No biography on file yet.

At a glance

News mentions
0

Term ending Dec 31, 2028.

Voice

Meetings spoken in
7
Total speaking time
34:21
Avg per meeting
4:54
Segments
484

Want every word Bonnema has said?

The OpenCity MCP for Claude.ai answers questions like “what has Bonnema said about housing this year” with one prompt — full speaking history, with YouTube timestamps.

Filtered to Public Safety

Top issues during term (14)(Public Safety)

high→Aug 2026[50]

Flock AI surveillance cameras

The county is paying Flock under an auto-renewing contract, with a payment included in the $35 million claims list.

critical↑Jan 2026[25]

Community Mental Health authority transition and autism services

CMH ran a $5 million deficit last year; conversion would cut CMH expenses about $2.1 million in year one but shift county revenue by the same amount.

high↑Mar 2026[20]

Sheriff's Office Staffing

$49,560 in federal grant funds, no local cost noted.

medium↑Oct 2026[10]

Airport safety and glare concerns at the air park

critical↑Jul 2026[7]

Grand Haven Township Tragedy Response

Investing in tech-based monitoring could save the county money on labor costs in the long run, though setting up the new gear won't be cheap.

high↓Mar 2026[3]

Legal Services Policy restructuring

Salaried in-house counsel could save money versus open-ended hourly billing, but the cost of a second counsel role is unresolved.

medium↓Jun 2026[2]

District Court Staffing Needs

Two new clerical positions would add county general-fund cost in the FY2027 budget.

high↓Jun 2026[2]

Health Department Vaccine Waiver Information

The underlying budget adjustment funds back-to-school advertising and tick-kit distribution via a state sharing grant.

high↓Jan 2026[2]

Federal immigration enforcement (ICE) in Ottawa County

medium↓Aug 2026[2]

Court system navigation and self-help resources

high↓Aug 2026[2]

State MIDC cuts threaten public defender funding

Potentially ~$780,000 in costs shifting to the county if the appeal fails.

high↓Mar 2026[1]

Public Health Plan and Oversight Debate

The Wear One program cost the county only about $1,000.

medium↓Feb 2026[1]

Contract ratification thresholds and policy on programs serving minors

The pilot contract itself was $5,000; the policy discussion could reshape department contracting authority up to $70,000.

low↓Jan 2026[1]

Emergency authority gap between chair terms

Decisions during term (0)

Recorded while Bonnema was in office — not necessarily decisions they moved, spoke to, or voted on.

No decisions found matching Public Safety.

Voting record (0)(Public Safety)

No votes found matching Public Safety.