BERRIEN COUNTY COMMISSION UPDATE

By DEBRA HAIGHT
ST. JOSEPH – Will a hefty pay raise for Berrien County Juvenile Center workers serve to attract needed new employees? County officials are hoping the answer is yes.
Berrien County Commissioners approved a new contract with the center’s union employees at their meeting last week. The contract had already been ratified by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Council 25, Local 2757 union local.
Commissioners had discussed the new contract in a closed session at their Committee of the Whole meeting also last week. The commissioners approved the contract on behalf of Berrien County Trial Court Family Division Judges and it will run through Dec. 31, 2025. The union represents Juvenile Center employees and covers 27 positions there.
Berrien County Trial Court Administrator Carrie Smietanka-Haney said the contract is retroactive to Feb. 1. Positions covered under the contract include youth specialist, cook, food service coordinator and reintegration and family services coordinator.
“We are very pleased with the pay increases during this contract cycle, which include 10-18% increases per grade (dependent on job classification) in the first year and 2% for years two and three of the contract,” Smietanka-Haney said. “Additional improvements to holiday pay and attendance incentives were also approved.”
“We hope that the pay increases and additional opportunities outlined will attract applicants to the juvenile center as we continue to progress in our efforts to serve youth and families in Berrien County,” she added.
She noted that individuals interested in learning about juvenile center vacancies can visit https://www.berriencounty.org/1768/Employment-Opportunities for additional information and applications.
The county has been battling a staff shortage across several departments since the pandemic. The county website currently lists seven open positions at the Juvenile Center as well as several in other departments. A total of 57 job openings are listed on the county website.
The juvenile center currently faces a number of challenges. Staffing shortages since the Covid pandemic have kept the center from offering residential treatment services in addition to a detention facility. County officials are also looking at moving the center to a new location.
As county officials have noted over the last several months, the current juvenile center facility on Dean’s Hill Road in Berrien Township has reached the end of its life. Studies done to assess the property concluded that it would be a better use of resources to build a new juvenile center at a new location.
County officials have also talked about the need for residential treatment services which are in short supply not only in Berrien County but also in the rest of the state. The lack of staffing for the residential side of the juvenile center has forced the county to pay for youth to get treatment at centers in other parts of the country.
The Serenity Hills treatment facility in the former Berrien General Hospital next to the current juvenile center is also looking to move as the former hospital is in disrepair as well. Serenity Hills leases the old hospital from Corewell Health, formerly Spectrum Health, and provides residential treatment services to both youth and adults in the area.
The county’s efforts to find a new home for the juvenile center and potentially for Serenity Hills has concentrated on the land the county owns off Napier Avenue in Benton Township. The county’s health department and animal control department are already located there and people have talked about the possibility of establishing a county campus there.
As noted by commissioners and County Administrator Brian Dissette last month, the cost of completing all the construction projects envisioned could end up being more than expected due to inflation and supply chain issues.
Besides a new juvenile center, county officials are contemplating building a new jail and courthouse on the Napier Avenue land. Dissette noted that the costs of maintaining the current jail continue to go up and asked commissioners to be prepared to discuss whether the county keeps pouring money into the jail or build a new one.
He said that while cost estimates for maintaining current county facilities were put at $15.8 million two years ago, cost estimates have tripled since then. He noted that construction costs that were at $200 a square foot a year or so ago are $600 a square foot now. “We can do one-third of the work presented to the board then,” he said.
While no answer is expected to come anytime soon relative to building a new jail or courthouse, commissioners were scheduled to be asked this week to approve a short term contract to help the county’s building and grounds department.
Commissioners reported that they are on board to fast track the expected contract with a Berrien Springs firm to help the building and grounds department get maintenance projects done around the county. County officials reported that the head of that department has been out sick and other department workers have also been off the job.
Dissette reported that the Berrien Springs firm being recommended for hiring will help make sure maintenance work gets done at the St. Joseph courthouse as well as the 911 Emergency Dispatch Center. Abonmarche has already been hired to plan for projects related to the county jail, he added.
Last week, commissioners approved the annual grant application for hazardous materials emergency preparedness and amended the sheriff’s department agreement with Countryside Academy.
The hazardous materials emergency preparedness information is provided by the Michigan State Police with grants of at least $3,500 available to Local Emergency Planning Committees.
The Berrien County Sheriff’s Department’s existing contract with Countryside Academy to provide the school with a School Resource Officer was amended in order for Countryside to get a state grant. The amendment adds language required to get the state grant.
Issues expected to come before the county board in coming weeks include the extension of the concession agreement for Silver Beach County Park and resolutions pertaining to the Berrien County Health Department.