Fired Road Commissioners_ Berrien County Commission At Odds

Fired Berrien County Road Commissioners Larry Merritt and Chuck Collins want answers about why they were dismissed in September from those posts by the Berrien County Board of Commissioners. In a complaint to the Michigan Attorney General's office, Merritt says they were dismissed without being given written notification of the charges against them, and were denied access to an attorney at the County Board meeting when the action was taken on September 20. County officials said at the time that Road Commission Attorney Michael Kluck could not represent both the Road Commission as a whole and its members individually. Berrien County Corporate Counsel Donna Howard will be responding to concerns raised by Collins on September 25, and has been authorized by the Board of Commissioners to respond to the complaint filed with the Attorney General if needed.

The firings of Merritt and Collins followed accusations made in June of a hostile work environment by 13 non-union employees against former managing director Rhonda Hildebrand and two former managers, with all three now out of work after an investigation was launched and the Road Commission was revamped by the County Board over how the investigation was handled. In a letter given to WSJM News by the non-union whistleblowers, they say they welcome an investigation by Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette into what happened. Regarding the dismissals of Collins and Merritt, the employees say the attorney general should "look into why they were fired, not how."