Special Report: Counties that oversee Kinexus say they never approved its executives’ pay — and still haven’t received key records

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. Almost all of the federal money — $6.8 million of the $6.95 million — sits with the workforce board. “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.