By DEBRA HAIGHT
BCR Correspondent
ST. JOSEPH – Berrien County isn’t quite out of the woods when it comes to the COVID-19 pandemic with Berrien County Trial Court officials announcing they are taking a month break in holding jury trials in the county. Meanwhile, reports came on the 2021 property equalization values for the county as well as an honor for an area dispatcher.
The trial court had been holding jury trials off and on since late last summer, including a murder trial held over the last couple of weeks in St. Joseph. Jury trials started up after the pandemic shutdown last August but were stopped in late October. They started up again in mid-March and are now shut down until early June.
In a press release late Friday, April 30, Trial Court Administrator Carrie Smietanka-Haney reported that the decision had been made to temporarily suspend jury trials May 3 through the end of the month. Jury trials are expected to resume June 1.
“There are many factors involved in the determination to conduct jury trials during the pandemic,” she said. “At this time due to multiple factors, court leadership felt it was appropriate to take a pause given the present circumstances in the state.”
Smietanka-Haney reported that she and other trial court officials consult with the Berrien County Health Department as they make the decision to resume or stop jury trials. Those items include the number of positive COVID-19 cases in the county as well as hospitalizations, community spread and other factors.
The Michigan Supreme Court’s “Return to Full Capacity” Guide outlines a variety of criteria counties should use in determining how much public access to courthouses to allow and how court proceedings should be conducted.
The pause in holding jury trials means that individuals summoned for jury service through May 28th are not expected to report for service. Jurors scheduled to serve the week of May 31st and forward are still required to contact the jury hotline during their scheduled week of service.
The press release noted that the court will remain in Phase Three of the Michigan Supreme Court’s Return to Full Capacity Guide and all other aspects of Phase Three (such as the ability to pay a traffic ticket or submit filings in-person) remain in effect.
People with questions regarding specific business with the court, it is still the suggestion of the court that they call before they come to the buildings. The public is encouraged to visit the Trial Court’s website at www.berriencounty.org/1058/Trial-Court for additional information, including how to contact each division of the court.
Once jury trials restart, people should expect to see the pandemic restrictions to still be in place. Those include not allowing the general public to watch trials in person, they instead can see trials online on the Trial Court’s YouTube Channel. In addition, jurors will be required to wear masks and sit socially distanced from each other.
In other county news, County Equalization Director Warren Parrish reported the 2021 results to county commissioners in April. Commissioners later approved the equalization report which includes the assessment rolls of municipalities in the county in terms of overall real and personal property valuations.
The report offered good news for the county. “We’ve seen growth which is a good thing,” Parrish told commissioners. “We’ve seen a 2.96 percent increase in taxable value. That is the highest number we’ve seen since 2014.”
He called the growth a bit of a surprise. “There were a lot of unknowns with the onset of COVID,” he added. “The market is a difficult thing to predict but this is where we’re at and it’s a good thing.”
Parrish said his department’s work includes the equalization report adopted by the county each April as well as an apportionment report done each October. The department also audits local governmental units’ assessment rolls, calculate millage reductions and conduct land value, appraisal and sales studies.
The property values listed in the equalization report are the basis of the coming year’s tax collection and local units of government and school districts use the report to estimate tax revenues they expect to receive, he said.
The combined total of real and personal property for all the cities and townships in the county is $10,470,205,440 for the 2021 year. Broken down into categories, nearly 70 percent of that amount is from residential properties, 12.57 percent from industrial, 7.93 percent from commercial and 4.97 percent from agricultural properties.
The full equalization report is available on the county website on the equalization department page. The report provides breakdowns of the real and personal property valuation totals for each municipality and also by school district. The report also lists the parcels getting industrial facilities tax breaks in each governmental unit and school district.
Commissioners honored county Telecommunicators/Dispatchers in April. Four 9-1-1 dispatchers were honored with Berrien County Dispatcher Tyler Prenkert receiving the 9-1-1 Telecommunicator of the Year Award. The award was presented during National 911 Public-Safety Telecommunicators Week which is held each April.
Medic 1 Executive Director and 9-1-1 Advisory Committee Chairman Jack Fisher announced the nominees and Prenkert as the winner of the award. Other nominees were Niles Dispatcher Earl Shaffer, Berrien County Supervisor Sarah Blurton and Berrien County Supervisor Cassidie Pointer.
Fisher noted that dispatchers are known as the “first first responders” for their integral role in the response to an emergency call, providing pre-arrival instructions over the phone, and mobilizing and coordinating the field response.
Prenkert was honored for his calm demeanor, control, intuition, and ability
to reason through complex multi-faceted calls. Tyler’s handling of a call last December for a house fire from a resident trapped inside was highlighted.
Fisher said Prenkert was able to calm the caller and quickly determine viable options for the woman, who had limited mobility, providing instructions to her that helped aid in her surviving the fire.
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