The Oxford Village Council is full of hypocrites ? well, at least three-fifths of it is.
Last week, I watched the council screw over a local business by picking a national trash hauler, Republic Services, to serve village households for the next five years beginning Sept. 1. The story is on Page 2.
The two lowest prices were offered by Republic Services, headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, and Odd Job Disposal, based right here in Oxford Township.
To be fair, Republic’s monthly rate was lower than Odd Job ? $9.89 per household versus $11.50.
And Republic’s price included providing each village residence with a 65-gallon recycling cart at no extra charge.
Odd Job’s price did not include 65-gallon carts because one of the owners said, based on his experience, customers typically didn’t demand such large containers for recycling. In order for Odd Job to supply them, it would have cost an additional $60 per village residence.
By the way, those big recycling carts were something the village decided to include in its request for proposals this time. The village had never asked for them before.
Now, I don’t know Republic Services from Adam and the purpose of this column is not to be critical of that company in any way, shape or form. Republic competed fairly and won the contract. I have no qualms about that. Congratulations to them.
I’m upset with the village council, a group that constantly extols the virtues of supporting all things local, from downtown merchants to the grossly-overpriced police dispatch center that’s bleeding Oxford taxpayers dry, while we subsidize those freeloading parasites in Lake Orion government.
Council had a golden opportunity to support Odd Job Disposal, a local business owned by local folks who pay local property taxes, shop local stores, send their children to local schools and make donations to local organizations and causes.
They took that golden opportunity, wadded it up and pitched it in the trash.
Again, to be fair, council members Bryan Cloutier and Rose Bejma voted for Odd Job, so good on them. Thank you for supporting a local business. You can sit out the rest of this column.
As for the rest of council, you guys suck. I realize that’s not terribly pithy, but it’s the best way to sum up my feelings without using the stream of profanity they so richly deserve.
I feel very strongly about this matter because as someone who works for a local business that’s operated in this community since 1898, I understand and appreciate the value of supporting and encouraging the town’s small business community.
Us little guys got to sick together.
Unfortunately, three-fifths of the council does not grasp this concept. Oh sure, they’ll pay lip service to the idea, but when the time comes to put their money where their mouths are, they pick the out-of-towner. Having a facility in Pontiac doesn’t count as local to me.
Normally, I’m a big fan of saving money wherever and whenever I can.
But frankly, as a village resident, I would have been willing to pay the extra $1.61 per month for the local company because I sincerely believe in trying to spend as many of my hard-earned dollars as I can in Oxford.
As for the free 65-gallon recycling carts the village requested and Republic provided, I could care less about those silly things. A big plastic cart with wheels is just not enough of an incentive to convince me to tell a local company to go pound sand.
Granted, Odd Job is not some massive corporation with extensive resources, tens of thousands of employees, millions of customers and contracts all over the U.S. Sometimes government officials feel more secure hiring big companies believing them to be more reliable and able to deliver higher quality service.
That’s understandable. But then again, bigger doesn’t always mean better or more stable. Big companies can go bankrupt and give lousy service. They do it everyday.
Odd Job is a plucky little company that’s been around since January 2007. It employs 14 people and owns 13 trucks. The company currently serves between 9,000 and 10,000 residential customers, and continues to add more as its reputation grows.
But what Odd Job lacks in size, it more than makes up for by providing excellent, personalized service to their residential and commercial customers. Everyone I’ve talked to who contracts with Odd Job sings their praises. Honestly, I haven’t heard a bad word about them.
The company is small, but it has legions of devoted customers. Among them is Oakland County Undersheriff Mike McCabe, who a few months ago, actually took the time to call me out of the blue just to tell me how wonderful Odd Job’s service truly is.
And McCabe isn’t the only fan.
Oxford Twp. Supervisor Bill Dunn and Fire Chief Pete Scholz have publicly complimented and endorsed Odd Job’s work.
Cloutier gave Odd Job high marks for the way it serves both the Oxford Public Library, where he works as director, and the private village street on which he lives.
Right there is a small, but impressive list of credible, unsolicited references.
The village council should have at least given Odd Job a chance to prove itself.
Instead of handing out a five-year contract, the village could have hired Odd Job on a trial basis and later, evaluated its performance. If you like the job they’re doing, give them a longer contract. If you don’t, hire another trash hauler. It’s not a life-and-death decision like picking a brain surgeon.
But instead of giving a local little guy a helping hand, council opted to help a corporate giant get even bigger and richer.
The whole thing just plain stinks.
I remember back in January 2013 when council approved a purchasing ordinance designed to give companies bidding to provide supplies, materials, equipment or services to the village preferential treatment based on where they’re located.
Companies based in the village and township were given an edge in the bidding process because council was committed to doing business with locals whenever it was possible and/or practical.
At the time, I was all for it, but now, I can see that ordinance really isn’t worth the toilet paper it’s written on.
Actions speak louder than words and council’s decision to snub a local company is deafening. Again, you guys suck.