County Commissioner Warns Of Decreased Revenue

berriencountyadministration-67
berriencountyadministration-67

The Berrien County Board of Commissioners is going to have to brace itself for a substantial cut in funding due to the COVID-19 pandemic. So says Commissioner Ezra Scott, who told the board on Thursday’s he’s been told by a rep of state Senator Kim LaSata’s office Michigan is already looking at a $6 billion shortfall. That’s going to mean less revenue sharing for the counties. Scott urged everyone to keep that in mind.

“We are going to see some shortfalls, and we’re going to see some real budget cuts, and we’re going to have to be very careful with our money and what we’re doing with our money and how we’re spending it because the last thing this commissioner wants to do is to lay off staff and to lay off people,” Scott said.

Scott also said he’s concerned about the loss of revenue from casinos. Berrien County Administrator Bill Wolf previously told the county board he expects property tax revenue to be down due to people simply being unable to pay this year. However, Wolf said he would expect those payments to start coming in the following years.