To the editor:
I’m writing regarding the current recall effort in Goodrich.
Many residents do not attend the meetings and therefore do not witness what happens on a monthly basis with our village council. Please remember that someday it could be your request that is ignored. To the council: It is important to remember that the village residents are the people paying for whatever decisions you make as a council. When it comes to raises, no one is saying that the employees are not deserving. If deserving was the only consideration many of the people who live in Michigan would not have lost their jobs, they would be getting raises…
We are a village of 660 homes. Constantly spending, using our taxpayers as the economic well to draw from, is reckless and irresponsible.
When each of you ran for council it should have been understood that you were here to represent the wishes of the residents, not only what you personally wanted. Meeting after meeting you are asked to listen and do what a taxpayer wants and meeting after meeting you ignore those requests and act as though this were a dictatorship, not a democratic society. If it were to be suggested that in lieu of taxing as we have done in the past we were to try something new and more fair, would you consider it with an open mind?
If so, let’s add up all the costs of running the village and divide it equally by the number of village residences. We all receive the same services, why should some pay a $100/year and others $1,200/ year or more? If you cannot see your way to do that, please consider that many of the taxpayers paying for these proposed raises and benefits may be on the verge of losing their homes and or their jobs.
There is no ulterior motive here and Greg Tankersley is trying to encourage the residents to see what is happening before the taxes are raised beyond the cut we received. With regard to the retroactive raises, how often in your lifetime have you ever heard of someone receiving one? The cost to the residents with the matching funds is not going to be inexpensive. Do we really need three DPW workers? There is no snow, it doesn’t take three workers 40 hours to cut the grass, the streets are filthy, I spoke with someone who rides her bike and she has gotten flat tires due to broken glass on the streets, dead animals lie around, the drains are often clogged with debris and we don’t have that many flowers.
We need to compare what tax dollars we are discussing (these are all public record): Village Council members: Ed York, $424.07; Rick Horton, $715.24; Ralph Morey, $429.70; David Lucik, $522.33; Patti Wartella, $817.57; Dennis & Diane Fredericks, $1,153.58; others in our sub, $1052.27 and $1,115.62; Greg Tankersley, $956.89; others in his sub, $1,400.56 and $999.70; other village residents, $1,340.30, $1,261.53, and $895.65.
All is not created equal! We don’t want to move! We like our home and love our neighbors. Please attend the meetings and see for yourself. When someone approaches you to sign the recall petition, please sign if you agree and offer to help. If you don’t agree, that is your right and please respect the right of the petition holder to voice their opinion and do something other than complain.
Dennis & Diane Fredericks
Goodrich