ST. JOSEPH — The Berrien County Board of Commissioners is poised to approve today a resolution that would allow a special counsel, attorney John Dewane, to be granted a delegation of power and authority to investigate commissioner Teri Freehling.

Freehling, of Baroda Township, is alleged to have violated laws regarding conflicts of interest by elected officials. She was appointed in 2015 to represent Baroda, Baroda Township, Bridgman, Lake Township and parts of Oronoko Township.

In early September, a civil lawsuit against Freehling, her late husband, Patrick, and the Berrien County drain commissioner, Christopher Quattrin, was filed by Douglas Hartzler, a business partner of Patrick’s who was contracted to work on county drain projects in 2017 and 2018.

Patrick rented machinery for drain work to Hartzler, who was then meant to be paid about $400,000 over his two years of work by the drain commissioner.

Hartzler alleged that most of the money went to Patrick, and that Teri, knowing of her husband’s work with Hartzler, created a conflict of interest by not recusing herself from all of Hartzler’s contract approvals.

Berrien County Prosecuting Attorney Michael Sepic and the Michigan State Police investigated the Freehlings shortly after. On Sept. 25, both Sepic and the police announced that no criminal charges would be pressed.

In a Sept. 25 press release, Sepic stated that Teri appeared to know of her late husband’s dealings with Hartzler, but the facts obtained were not enough to prove she knew the full extent of the money.

Sepic noted that Teri did abstain from voting on some payment authorizations to Hartzler and disclosed her husband’s involvement with him, but not to the fullest extent.

Two days after Sepic’s and Michigan State Police’s decision, the board of commissioners decided to appoint a special counsel to investigate Teri.

“The decision made by the prosecutor was in the context of a criminal investigation,” said board chair Mac Elliott. “The prosecutor determined it was not appropriate to file charges in that context.”

Instead, Elliott and other board members appointed Dewane as special counsel for an administrative inquiry. He will determine if Teri failed to adhere by the board’s by-laws which have their own conflict of interest policies.

“This has to do with the rules that govern us as a board and the conduct of the individual board members,” Elliott said. “So, we’ve retained special counsel to look into that and to look into all aspects of anything to do with the allegations of conflict of interest, failure to disclose any conflict of interest and anything else connected to it.”

Dewane is an attorney at Kotz Sangster, which has offices throughout Michigan, including St. Joseph. He is a recently retired Berrien County Circuit Court judge. Prior to his appointment to in 2008, he had his own private practice for 40 years.

If the board of commissioners approve their resolution today, Dewane could speak to commissioners and Berrien County employees about the alleged misconduct. He could also make recommendations for amendments to the board’s by-laws to bolster transparency and minimize conflict of interest misdemeanors.

Meanwhile, Teri will continue to serve as a commissioner.