BERRIEN COUNTY COMMISSION UPDATE

By DEBRA HAIGHT
BCR Correspondent
ST. JOSEPH – Berrien County Commissioners discussed several topics at their meeting last week, ranging from the rise in drug overdose deaths to their intention to go on the record opposing state plans to take local control away from decisions on wind and solar projects.
A week after Berrien County Commissioners heard about plans to spend the county’s multi-million dollar opioid settlement funds, commissioners heard about why that money is needed.
Dr. Joyce deJong is the head of Western Michigan University’s Department of Pathology which provides medical examiner services for 12 Michigan counties including Berrien County. She gave commissioners the 2022 annual medical examiner report last week.
She reported that while the number of motor vehicle related deaths has declined, the numbers have gone up in other areas such as drug overdoses and homicides as well as the number of overall deaths. She noted that the number of overall deaths has remained high since the onset of the recent pandemic.
“We have seen a significant increase in drug fatalities, from 36 in 2021 to 50 in 2022,” she said. “That’s a fairly large increase. There were also seven other fatalities, six were suicides and one was indeterminate.”
She said 43 of the 2022 drug related deaths in the county involved fentanyl. She noted that her office has seen a few drug related deaths involving heroin, cocaine or meth but much less than in past years.
“My hunch is that the fentanyl deaths will be staying high,” she said. “It’s a serious problem, a critical problem. With the monies you have coming in with the settlement, you should look at mechanisms to address and treat this problem.”
“To me, it’s a public health issue, I don’t think we can arrest our way out of it,” she added. “You can arrest those who are distributing the drugs but some communities that have done better have started different initiatives to prevent drug use.”
When asked by Commissioner Chokwe Pitchford about any correlation between the monies put into treatment and deterrence and actual reductions in deaths, deJong said that prevention is a really significant piece of addressing the problem. “It’s good to treat the addiction but it’s a difficult disease to treat,” she said.
She praised officials for starting the Medically Assisted Treatment program in the Berrien County Jail. Berrien County Undersheriff Chuck Heit reported in August that the county is contracting with a Michigan company to pilot a MAT program to provide services to jail inmates at a cost of $180,000 for one year.
She said that type of program could be very helpful in combatting the drug problem in the county. “We see people who are using before they go to jail and then go back to using after they get out, but their tolerance for the drug is gone,” she said. “… If people are not regular users and have no tolerance, they can succumb to it.”
DeJong also gave statistics about homicides in the county. The number of homicides rose from eight in both 2019 and 2020 to 13 in 2021 and 18 in 2022.
County Administrator Brian Dissette asked commissioners to consider both the data presented by deJong and the recommendations made earlier by the county’s opioid settlement taskforce. “You will be looking through this data which is fairly bleak,” he said. “You can see that continued inaction will have consequences and the numbers will climb.”
He said his goal is to get the process underway soon to decide what programs to fund with the opioid settlement monies and to send out requests for proposals. He would like to have the request for proposals readied, sent out and considered so that the funds can be awarded in the first part of 2024.
Berrien County Commissioners are preparing to go on the record opposing proposed state legislation which would take away local control over wind and solar energy developments.
Their action-which is expected to be taken at this week’s county board meeting-comes at a time when several area townships are preparing to adopt new wind and solar ordinances. Some townships have already adopted ordinances, while others such as Galien Township are currently working on ordinances of their own.
County Administration Committee members are spearheading the effort to pass a county resolution opposed to the state’s actions. They are preparing a resolution to present to the full board that will then be sent to the governor as well as the state legislators representing Berrien County in Lansing.
“As a county we’ve made a concerted effort to teach local governments on these zoning requirements and what things they can put in place,” Commissioner Julie Wuerfel said at last week’s board meeting. “Now the state is coming in to take local authority away and put state zoning regulations on top of them.”
Dissette said the county will be relying on information gathered by the Michigan Township Association as well as sample resolutions they’ve prepared. The MTA reported on its website that legislation being proposed would move the permitting of these facilities from local governments to the Michigan Public Service Commission.
“Attempts to strip away local authority are becoming more and more common,” the MTA stated. “No one knows a community—and its wants and needs—better than residents and the local officials they elect to represent and serve them. We will work to ensure that communities and Michiganders keep their voice on these important local decisions.”
The MTA noted that it should be townships’ choice whether to allow renewable energy facilities in their jurisdiction, not the state’s decision. The association pointed out that it’s not just proposed legislation they are opposing but comments made by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in favor of moving permitting and siting decisions to the state.