The board that governs Kinexus Group is set to meet in special session today (Tuesday) at 8:30 a.m. at the Kinexus Training Center on West Main Street in Benton Harbor. Its posted notice does not say what the board will take up.
The notice is a single page. It carries the Kinexus Group logo, the words “Board of Directors Special Meeting,” the date and time, and the address.
What it does not include is the agenda.
While it is widely believed the main topic will be a formalization of who will serve as interim CEO of the Berrien, Cass, Van Buren Workforce Development Board, the topic or topics are officially an open question.
The agency’s bylaws require one. In language the three counties ratified in 2005 and again in 2015, Section 3.07 provides that notice of a special meeting “shall be given by mail or by such other means as the Chairperson deems appropriate at least three (3) calendar days before the day of the meeting and shall state the time, place and agenda.”
The notice states the time. It states the place. The third element is absent.
That requirement is stricter than state law. Michigan’s Open Meetings Act requires a public body to post notice of a special meeting 18 hours in advance, but does not require the notice to say what will be discussed. The board’s own bylaws do. Kinexus told Berrien County’s corporate counsel on August 24 that it would comply with the Open Meetings Act while continuing to dispute that the act applies to it.
The notice also does not say who called the meeting. Under the same section, only the chairperson or one third of the directors may call one. The agency’s published 2026 meeting schedule names George Saleeby as chairman.
The meeting comes as President and Chief Executive Officer Todd Gustafson prepares to leave the agency.
Hiring a new/interim executive director
The Berrien-Cass-Van Buren Workforce Development Board, which does business as Kinexus Group, was created by Berrien, Cass, and Van Buren counties. Under section 1.B of the interlocal agreement that created it, the county commissioners “approve the hiring of an Executive Director, including the authority to approve any employment contract.” The Chief Elected Officials Board, made up of two commissioners from each county, carries the same responsibility under section 1.C. The bylaws say the board may hire an executive “subject to the terms of the Interlocal Agreement.”
Neither document distinguishes between a permanent executive and an interim one. A director could move to appoint someone already on the Kinexus staff, or nominate a candidate from outside it. On the face of the governing documents, either would still require the concurrence of the Chief Elected Officials Board and the three county boards of commissioners. The Chief Elected Officials Board is required to meet at least once every three months. Gustafson’s last day is September 8, and whether the counties can align action before then is unclear.
Public records Berrien County released to WSJM on Monday under the Freedom of Information Act show how that process worked the last time the agency hired a chief executive.
Gustafson’s June 1, 2005 offer letter set his salary at $87,400 a year and stated, in capital letters, that the offer was “contingent upon approval by the WDB, the CEOB and the boards of commissioners for the counties of Berrien, Cass and Van Buren.” It further required that any change to his salary be approved by the workforce board and the Chief Elected Officials Board. The Berrien County Board of Commissioners adopted the approving resolution on June 16, 2005, on a 12-0 vote, with one commissioner absent.
Gustafson’s base salary is now $285,738, according to the agency’s most recent federal tax return, covering the year that ended June 30, 2025.
More transparency questions
The page that carries Tuesday’s notice also carries the agency’s meeting minutes. None are from 2026.
The most recent board minutes posted are from December 5, 2025. The agency’s own published 2026 schedule lists four board meetings — March 6, June 5, October 2 and December 4 — and records the agency produced to the counties document that the March 6 meeting took place. The same page lists four 2026 meetings of the Career and Education Advisory Council, three of which have passed; the most recent council minutes posted are from November 12, 2025.
Section 3.08(B) of the bylaws provides that “a copy of the approved minutes of each WDB meeting, subcommittee meeting (if applicable), and Education Advisory Group meeting shall be posted on the organization website not more than five (5) business days after the meeting at which the minutes were approved.”
Today’s meeting
Whatever the board does Tuesday, the governing documents do not make it the last word. On their face, an interim executive, like a permanent one, requires the concurrence of the Chief Elected Officials Board and the three county boards — the same gate Gustafson’s own hiring passed through in 2005, in capital letters. The meeting begins at 8:30 a.m. Story updates will be posted on our website.
A note on methods: This series draws on thousands of pages of records — board minutes, audits, tax returns, and governing documents. WSJM used artificial intelligence tools to assist in searching, organizing, and cross-referencing those records and in preparing working analyses of them. Consistent with Associated Press guidance, WSJM treats AI output as unvetted source material: every fact that appears in these reports was verified by WSJM journalists against the original documents, all interviews and editorial decisions are human, and responsibility for the reporting rests entirely with the WSJM newsroom. Errors, when identified, are corrected and disclosed.
