Newly elected Muskegon County officials were sworn in and the Board of Commissioners selected leadership and adopted its governing rules and calendar at the county’s 2025 organizational meeting. Commissioner Nash was elected chair and Commissioner Jessica Cook was elected vice chair; the board also adopted its rules of procedure and meeting calendar for 2025 and postponed a decision on moving live public participation away from Zoom.

The swearing-in began with the presiding judge, Ken Hoots, administering oaths to newly elected officials across county offices. Several newly elected county officers repeated the oath of office, including the county surveyor and county water resources commissioner. After the oath ceremonies, the board proceeded to its organizational business, beginning with roll call and approval of the meeting agenda.

The board conducted nominations and a vote for chair. After nominations and a request for a secret ballot, the board elected Commissioner Nash as chair. The board then moved to elect a vice chair; after closing nominations Commissioner Jessica Cook was elected vice chair.

The board voted to adopt a resolution authorizing the rules of the Muskegon County Board of Commissioners for 2025. Vice Chair Cook moved the rules adoption; the motion carried. The board also approved the 2025 meeting calendar and several committee and liaison appointments, including committee chairs and vice chairs, by voice or roll-call motions during the session.

Commissioners discussed providing live video of county meetings through the Civic Plus platform (the county’s website) in place of or alongside Zoom, and whether the change would preserve real‑time public comment. Matt Keller, Muskegon County IT director, told the board that an online web form could accept advance public comments but would not reproduce Zoom’s live participant interaction. "The one thing that Zoom does is it does give you that real time, participation. If we were to go away from Zoom, then we would no longer have that real time interaction," Keller said. He added that Civic Plus streaming would still allow recordings to be viewed after the fact.

After discussion and questions about how remote public comment would be handled, the board voted to postpone a final decision on moving live public comment off Zoom and onto Civic Plus to full board (a motion to table/postpone to a future full board meeting carried).

During public comment, Ryan Bennett of Twin Lake congratulated the newly sworn officials. Another commenter urged greater bipartisan distribution of chair and vice chair assignments; commissioners responded that they intend to work collaboratively across party lines.

The meeting concluded after brief announcements and the board adjourned. Several housekeeping motions — including formation of a committee to review the board rules (members volunteered during the meeting) — were approved during the session.