The Berrien County Board of Commissioners Thursday approved the 2017 night meeting schedule.
This year’s meetings will be at 6 p.m. April 6, May 4, June 1, July 13, Aug. 3 and Sept. 7. The April and September meetings are planned to convene at the Berrien County Administration Center, 701 Main St., St. Joseph. The remaining four meeting locations will be submitted at a later date by the four new board members: Mike Majerek, Don Meeks, Ezra Scott and David Vollrath.
The schedule was settled on after some discussion at the Jan. 12 meeting. Some commissioners shared concerns over issues on yearly budgeting in the month of September, and there was contention over the strain put on staff at the administration center as well as members of the administration, finance, and personnel and human services committees.
“From a personal standpoint, I think it is great to have all meetings at night,” chairman Jon Hinkelman said. “But I realize that with what we ask here [at the administration center] and what we need done, the heavy lifting is done by the committees and [there is a need] to have the staff present.”
Ultimately, the board agreed that night meetings are vital in serving the community, with some members pushing for more.
“I’d like to see us do seven or eight [night meetings],” commissioner Bill Chickering said to the commissioners. “I appreciate the budget issue, but that month [September] is gone [due to budgeting] as it is, whether we meet in the morning or night.”