Court Decision Could Mean No Demolition Fund For Berrien County

berriencountyadmin3-7
berriencountyadmin3-7

A decision from the Michigan Supreme Court is having major implications for Berrien County. During a Thursday meeting of the Berrien County Board of Commissioners, Community Development Director Dan Fette said the state court recently ruled that when a county sells a foreclosed property, any money it makes off that sale beyond the property’s value should be given back to the former, or foreclosed, owner of the property. In Berrien County, funds from the sale of foreclosed properties go into the foreclosure fund, which pays for demolitions of blighted properties. With the new court decision, Fette says that’s out.

“We will not have the revenue to more forward with this program anymore, which is a real shame because we’ve been awfully successful and aggressive over the last 21 years in using that money to eliminate blight,” Fette said.

Fette notes the program has allowed individual communities to decide which dilapidated buildings they want torn down. Now, he says that kind of partnership won’t be possible. He notes a county-level meeting is planned for August for plans to be made for moving forward.