The Berrien County Board of Commissioners started work on the next county budget this week, and one thing it’s going to be considering is a possible loss of revenue due to changes in the taxable value of the Cook nuclear power plant.

In 2022, the Cook plant appealed its tax bill to the Michigan Tax Tribunal, seeking a lower rate. That would have hit the coffers of Berrien County, Lake Michigan College, Berrien RESA, Lake Township, and Bridgman Public Schools. A settlement was later reached that resulted in a lesser reduction in revenue for those entities, but Berrien County Board of Commissioners Chair Mac Elliott tells us that’s not going to last forever.

“ And at some point, they are going to come back and they’re going to seek to transfer certain

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