A new agreement between Berrien Bus and Berrien RESA could save the county some money while providing employment stability to the transportation service’s employees. Berrien County last year took on the employees and operations of Berrien Bus when its former operator, Transportation Management Incorporated, shut down. Berrien County Commissioner Teri Freehling said on Thursday the county’s role in running the service could be eased.
“Just this week, our partners at Berrien RESA approved a personnel agreement that will basically move the employees that we have at Berrien Bus under this personnel agreement through Berrien RESA, through a third party provider, starting this summer that will basically have those employees as employees of Berrien RESA,” Freehling said.
Freehling said this creates better opportunities for the employees to get healthcare and retirement plans. With RESA taking the operation’s employees, the county could in turn buy back transportation services. She said under the arrangement, nothing about those services will change. The county’s finance committee could move the matter ahead to the full board of commissioners soon.
