Commissioners urge enforcement of requisition deadlines to ease staff workload

The Berrien County Board of Commissioners spent part of its meeting discussing late requisition submissions and whether to enforce existing bylaws that set submission deadlines. Commissioners and staff said some departments are sending requisitions late on Wednesdays, which leaves staff little time to review items before meetings.

A commissioner identified as Julie raised the concern and urged enforcing the deadline so that requisitions received after the cutoff are deferred to the following week. She said staff should not be expected to work late into the night to get materials out to commissioners: "We're getting requisitions at 9 o'clock on Wednesday night. We need to start enforcing what's in our bylaws… anytime after that goes to the next week," she said.

County staff responded that they can enforce a hard cutoff but need clear guidance from the board on the preferred submission time; staff cautioned that some departments would have to be told their items would wait a week if submitted late. A county staff member said Annette (county staff) has been working late to push resolutions and that departments will need to adjust to avoid last‑minute submissions.

Commissioners offered practical options: one suggested making the rule automatic—missed cutoff means the item rolls to the next meeting—while another proposed reviewing meeting frequency (for example meeting twice a month) as a long‑term solution. The recorded discussion did not show a formal board vote adopting a new deadline or changing meeting frequency; the discussion closed with staff asking for specific direction should the board wish to change the enforcement policy.