Berrien, Cass, and Van Buren counties created the agency that runs Southwest Michigan’s job training programs. The interlocal agreement is the shared contract between Berrien, Cass, and Van Buren counties. The workforce board itself — the entity the counties created and appoint — took in $13.3 million in the year ending June 30, 2025. “That’s part of the reason for the inquiry about the documents,” said Kurt Doroh, chair of the Van Buren County Board of Commissioners. According to published salary data, the highest-paid employee in all of Van Buren County government made $149,705.