Benton Harbor commission approves $420,000 transfer amid debate over Plante Moran costs and finance oversight

The Benton Harbor City Commission approved a resolution to transfer $420,000 from the city income tax fund to the general fund for operations after a special meeting punctuated by public comment and an extended exchange over financial oversight.

Commissioner Deidra Fields moved to place the resolution before the commission and Commissioner Warren seconded; the measure passed with a roll call in which Commissioner Clark Griffin voted no and Commissioners Fields, Isom, Kennard, Warren and Mayor Pro Tem Turner recorded yes votes. The chair announced the motion carried.

Supporters of a more cautious approach and members of the public said the commission should provide line‑item accounting for past transfers before approving new ones. Commissioner Clark Griffin said the commission has transferred millions in recent years and asked for an itemized breakdown, saying on the record that transfers since 2022 amounted to roughly $6.85 million as he listed them during debate. "Where's all that money going?" Griffin asked, urging the commission to produce detailed line items for prior transfers.

Several residents urged transparency. Jed Newton, a St. Joseph resident running for state representative, told the commission that "when this commission decides to review its own finances, that is not dysfunction. That is our democracy at work." Mary Alice Adams, a longtime resident and former elected official, asked the city attorney to clarify whether the special meeting had been called with proper public notice.

Commissioners pressed staff about the city's use of outside accounting contractor Plante Moran. Commissioner Fields cited invoices showing payments in the range of about $28,769 to $42,129 across recent months and asked what Plante Moran charges; the meeting record includes an on‑the‑record rate of roughly $250 per hour and staff said the monthly amounts reflected routine, recurring work while the city searches for a qualified finance director. "Because we don't have a finance director, it's showing that we are getting things done from a standpoint financially until we can locate a qualified finance director," Commissioner Warren said.

The city manager framed the issue as a cash‑flow challenge rather than unexplained missing revenue, noting that the city receives daily fees and taxes but must meet large periodic expenses such as payroll and pension contributions. The manager said Benton Harbor has received an unqualified audit every year, including the latest, and that the need for transfers is driven by timing and shortfalls in collections dating back to the COVID period, when shutoff restrictions and other factors affected utility revenue. "The question is, does it balance?" the city manager said, describing payroll and large operating costs as the drivers of the shortfall.

Commissioners and the manager also discussed use of American Rescue Plan Act funds, which the manager said the city received and used in part to shore up utility operations; one commissioner noted about $2.7 million was moved into the utility fund in prior years. Several commissioners said audits and more detailed line items should be provided in committee so the public can compare what the income tax ballot promised with how those funds have been used.

After the vote, the commission chair said the matter would be examined in committee meetings to provide fuller documentation back to the commission and the public. No additional formal directives or amendments were recorded at the meeting.

The meeting adjourned following the vote.