It turns out Bertrand Township will be collecting its own summer property taxes this year after all.

Bertrand Clerk Jane Lano said that at the board’s May 12 meeting it voted unanimously to rescind its previous decision to have Berrien County collect the township’s taxes. Then the Berrien County Board of Commissioners voted last week to allow Bertrand to rescind its decision.

The 4-1 vote in December to have the county collect the township’s taxes fueled a recall effort that ousted former supervisor John Mefford and trustee Dick Haigh. Ex-treasurer Linda Layher, who was also targeted for recall, resigned before the recall election. Trustee David Zelmer was also on the recall ballot but avoided being removed from office.

Recall organizers argued the township should collect its own taxes in order to avoid a 1 percent fee the county charges.

At the time of the original decision, Mefford said Layher didn’t have the time to learn the new computer system that is being introduced this year for the collection of taxes.

Lano says she is confident that new treasurer Lee Ann Couture will be able to learn the new system before taxes are collected in September.

“It just seemed like a sensible thing to do,” Lano said. “The new treasurer feels comfortable and confident moving forward. It will be nice that we won’t collect that 1 percent administrative fee from the county.”