ESCANABA — A mistake in how members of the newly-created county Veterans Affairs Committee were appointed prompted the Delta County Board of Commissioners to rescind those appointments Tuesday and take a series of emergency actions to avoid jeopardizing payments to veterans in need.

“There’s a process to follow so that we make sure that we are consistent, unbiased, giving everyone equal opportunity, that we’re engaging the appropriate organizations, by law. By not following that process, we have violated law at this point, and I don’t think that any of us are going to say that ‘oh, that’s just fine, who cares?'” said Commissioner Christine Williams.

The issue, was raised in a complaint submitted by Gary Gustafson, of Ensign Township, who was one of the veterans who applied to be appointed to the new Veterans Affairs Committee but was not selected for the position. Gustafson said the county had violated the law that allowed for the committee to be established by failing to post a notice that the county was seeking veterans for the committee in the Daily Press and by not notifying all local veterans associations. He also claimed that the selection process, which was overseen by Delta County Veterans Service Officer Dave Dziewior, was prejudicial and that information from individual’s meetings with the VSO had unfairly influenced the selection process.

“There was no such bias as far as how we processed the applications or how we received the applications,” said Dziewor. “I want to remind the commission, the commissioners, that this took seven months of getting applications. This wasn’t something that happened in two months or two weeks or whatever, and any notion that there was any bias or any people that were picked over one or another for favoritism? Trust me I would have had it done in seven days, versus seven months. It took a lot longer than it should have because we took such and off-hands approach.”

It was noted during Tuesday’s meeting that the county board was well aware of Dziewor’s role in the selection process and that the county believed there was no issue with his handling of the applications. However, Delta County Administrator Ashleigh Young said the county had failed to place a notice in the Daily Press and had only verbally informed the Delta County Veterans Council about the openings, asking the council’s members to pass the message on to their respective veterans service organizations.

“Looking back, I cannot see another committee — whether it’s (an) advisory board, et cetera — that had nearly the publicity that this one did,” said Commissioner Matt Jensen, noting the committee openings were addressed in a front-page article in the Daily Press, as well as in radio and television coverage of the county’s business.

Despite the coverage, the commissioners determined that the appointments needed to be rescinded, as they were not legally made. Rescinding the appointments, however, put the county’s veterans at risk of not being able to receive assistance.

The problem stemmed from the dissolution of the Delta County Soldiers and Sailors Relief Committee, which reviewed claims from indigent veterans and their families. The committee was abolished following a millage approved by voters last year that established the Delta County Department of Veterans Affairs and the Veterans Affairs Committee.

In addition, the creation of the new system meant a new position for a veterans affairs director was created by the county. Because the county’s hiring policy requires new positions be posted and accept applicants, Dziewor was suddenly removed from his spot as the top officer for veterans relief in the county.

Multiple veterans decried Dziewor’s loss of status at the Feb. 7 county board meeting, arguing he should be hired as the director immediately rather than being sidelined as a subordinate to a newly hired director or being forced to apply for a job he had essentially held for years.

Dziewor told the commissioners Tuesday that he had begun the process of writing new bylaws for veterans affairs committee, but had stopped when the nature of his role with the county fell into question. It was assumed the five individuals appointed to the committee on Feb. 7 — Benjamin Proehl, Gary Maynard, Carlton Isaacson, Kal Smyth, and Steve Kwarciany — would meet and develop their own bylaws and rules for distributing funds, but the group did not meet before their appointments were rescinded Tuesday.

All five appointees could still end up on the committee, but only if they are reappointed after a notice for the position is posted in the newspaper, veterans’ service organizations are properly noticed, and 30 days have passed.

The 30-day requirement left Delta County with a problem: how to assist veterans in need with no process to provide assistance, no department lead to develop one, and no committees for at least 30 days.

After some discussion and a series of motions, the commissioners set Dziewor as the interim director for the county’s department of veteran’s affairs, a position he will hold for 30 days until the new appointments can be made. During that time, he will rewrite the Soldiers and Sailors Relief bylaws to be compatible with the law establishing the department of veterans affairs, thereby creating a process for veterans to apply for aid. Because the Soldiers and Sailors Relief fund committee and the Veterans Affairs Committee both were responsible for approving aid, the county has temporarily authorized Dziewor to approve aid of up to $1,000 per instance to veterans seeking relief through the county. As a check on Dziewor’s authority, Jensen, who is the only veteran currently serving on the board of commissions, was established as a second signatory on all distributions made while Dziewor is managing distributions without a committee.

As part of a separate agenda item, the commissioners voted Tuesday to establish a hiring committee to permanently fill the veterans affairs director position. That committee will be composed of Jensen, Young, Commissioner Patrick Johnson, and two veterans who had previously applied to be appointed to the Veterans Affairs Committee, drawn at random. Because the hiring committee will include individuals who are not currently affiliated with the county, certain aspects of applicants applications will be redacted during the interview process.