WLKM Radio 95.9 FM
Members of the Community Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services of St. Joseph County Board voted to remove executive director Liz O’Dell from her position pending an upcoming audit.
Newly appointed board member John Dobberteen said the audit and subsequent administrative leave for O’Dell were good for the honesty and sincerity of the process.
The process will put O’Dell on paid leave, with benefits, for the duration of the process. During that time she will not be allowed to have access to email, the server, employees, legal council or any direct communication with the agency.
Former CMH executive director Kristine Kirsch, who spent 10 years in the position before, agreed to take on the role of acting director during the audit.
Board members maintained that the review is not a disciplinary issue against O’Dell or CMH, but rather to protect the integrity of the process.
Since when do you put someone on leave during an audit? Either the board members decided to tell the people who fund them a lie or something else is going on. Don’t understand why we just can’t be up front with all of this.
Do all the county commissioners, county treasurer, or department heads get temporarily replaced during their annual audit? City or village managers? Township supervisors? Library directors? etc. etc. Something smells, whether it’s politics or malfeasance, the citizens will never know the whole story because there is no such thing as institutional transparency.
So has O’Dell been allowed to return as yet? Pay attention people of St. Joseph County as to what is going on in the political realm of this County.