Page 5 - Mayor Nick Shelton News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Niles, Benton Harbor, city of St. Joseph and Berrien County business and government leaders are lobbying to preserve their urban character in the federal government’s eyes. They want the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, which is part of the White House, to continue classifying the county as the Niles-Benton Harbor Metropolitan Statistical Area, rather than changing it to a “micropolitan” statistical area, as a federal committee has proposed for 144 areas around the country. The change would affect areas whose core cities have fewer than 100,000 residents, instead of the current 50,000 population threshold. Neither Niles (11,149 estimate in 2019) nor Benton Harbor (9,741) has 50,000 people within their city limits. But Berrien County has been classified as a metropolitan statistical area because the Census Bureau has determined that more than 50,000 people live in “urbanized areas,” based on their population density, and the county has a total populati

Benton harborUnited statesTerre hauteMichigan cityWhite houseDistrict of columbiaBerrien countyFred uptonDebbie stabenowNick sheltonGary petersSanya vitaleDevelopment community block grantCensus bureauCornerstone allianceUs office of management