BERRIEN COUNTY HIRES NEW COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR, BRIAN DISSETTE

By DEBRA HAIGHT
BCR Correspondent

ST. JOSEPH – Berrien County will soon have a new county administrator after action May 21 by the Berrien County Board of Commissioners. Commissioners voted unanimously to hire South Haven City Manager Brian Dissette to succeed William Wolf who is retiring next month.

Dissette is no stranger to the area. He served an internship in the county’s economic development department after college in 2002 during the tenure of then County Administrator Mike Henry. He then was the city manager in Watervliet for four years before going to South Haven in 2006.

Last week’s county board meeting was once again held

virtually due to the constraints of the COVID-19 pandemic with a handful of board members in the commission board room in the St. Joseph Administration Center and the remainder appearing from home via Zoom. The public could watch the meeting and comment on the county’s YouTube channel.

Dissette began his interview by talking about his background. “Thank you for having me here,” he said. “About 18 years ago I was sitting across the hall when I was an intern for Mike Henry. It’s exciting to be on this side of the hall.”

He then talked about what his tenure in South Haven. He noted that the city has a $40 million annual budget and has made $50 million worth of capital improvements over the last 10 years. “We tackled projects one after another and had a dedicated capital improvement plan,” he said. “That will be my goal here too.”

He said a big part of his success in South Haven was due to building partnerships with other entities and he plans to do that in Berrien County too. “The thing we’ve really done well is that we’ve built a lot of strong partnerships,” he said. “The thing I try to do every day is build partnerships. The nearby townships and businesses are valued partners.”

Dissette said he also learned from his earlier experience as the Watervliet city manager. During his time there, he did everything from writing community development block grants to driving a front end loader. “It taught me the importance of knowing the ins and outs of different jobs,” he said.

He said he decided to apply for the county administrator

job after talking with Henry and County Board Chairman McKinley Elliott. Dissette ended up being one of 15 people who applied for the post and was the only one interviewed.

“I consider Mike Henry to be mentor and good friend,” he said. “When I got done with my master’s degree, I chose to work with Mike, he’s always been a really good resource. When this position came open, I gave it a good look and I got a pep talk from Mike that I was ready for this job.”

Dissette said he sees Berrien County as having challenges and opportunities similar to what he’s faced in South Haven. For example, the Berrien County shoreline is being affected by Lake Michigan’s high water levels just as his hometown is. Tourism and recreation are also important to both entities.

He spoke some about the current challenges facing governments with the COVID-19 pandemic. He expects to see budget cuts coming from Lansing and the need for belt tightening in the county. He said he has been reviewing the county budget and sees the potential for restructuring, layoffs and the cutting of longterm benefits.

He said his first tasks in Berrien County will be getting out and meeting with county employees as well as building relationships with local organizations, businesses and governments. “My first job is to build relationships and understand the challenges we’re facing,” he said.

“This is a job where if you find me in the office at my desk, that’s a problem,” he added. “I’ll always be out talking to people.”

Elliott noted that the county has been fortunate in having strong leadership for the last 32 years with both Henry and Wolf. “We’ve been lucky as a public entity to have them,” he said. “Usually there’s a lot of turnover in a position like this. I believe we have the opportunity to have a similar tenure with Brian as he grows in the position.”

Elliott said the next steps will be to work out details of a contract with Dissette and give him the opportunity to work with Wolf. Dissette’s official starting date is expected to be July 1.

In public comments, Dissette’s hiring was praised by Julie Pioch of Paw Paw. She is the Michigan State University Extension Service district director for Southwest Michigan which includes both Berrien County and Van Buren County.

​“I am so pleased with your choice of Brian as the new county administrator, I have known him for 20 years,” she said. “​He is a highly professional and experienced public servant. I look forward to working with him to adjust from city government to a life in county government … We have tough times ahead and I believe he is up for the challenge.”