St. Joseph County committee chairs named for 2026 after series of committee votes

The St. Joseph County Council’s committee meeting on Jan. 13 confirmed chair assignments for each panel ahead of budget and appropriations work. Joe Thomas was nominated and approved to chair the Budget & Administration Committee. A contested nomination for the Engineering & Transportation Committee required a point of order over committee membership; the motion for Mr. Schaetzl passed by a recorded 3–2 voice tally. Diana Hess was selected to lead the Human Services & Criminal Justice Committee, and Mark Catanzarite won the Land Use Planning chair in a 3–2 vote.

Council leadership reiterated that only members of each committee vote on that committee’s chair, and said the new chairs would preside over the respective portions of the evening’s transfer and appropriations work. Several members raised procedural questions during the Engineering & Transportation nomination, including whether a nominated member was on the committee; the presiding officer required a committee-member second before the vote proceeded.

The committee results set the procedural leadership for the council’s upcoming review of transfers, salary amendments and departmental requests.