Dear Editor:
(In response to: ‘Townships ready to talk trash,? The Citizen, Jan. 31, page 1):
As a Brandon Township resident and owner of 1-800-ROLLOFF which provides residential garbage pickup in the township, I believe the entire process of selection of a common waste hauler seems very rushed. My belief is that the township board is intentionally rushing this process as they are fully aware that township residents do not need to be told who, what, where and how they can spend their hard-earned money.
Also, it seems Brandon Township is being led by a supervisor from another township, as his face has been all over this dying issue. Now it seems our new supervisor seems to think that above all the issues the township is facing, this non-issue needs immediate attention.
This is laughable.
I know for a fact the township supervisor has exercised her right to choose her hauler in the very recent past. I just think if you are going to put me out of work, it should only be fair that you should address other industries. There are multiple companies that provide propane in the township. How about tree sevice, snow removal, horse trainers, vets, parcel delivery, furniture delivery, etc. While you are at it, why doesn’t the township close a few pizza parlors? We only really need one hardware store. We even have too many gas stations to choose from. There’s even an oil change directly across the street from another. Maybe we could even close one of the car dealerships, as the township should be able to best decide what kind of vehicle we should drive. I hope it is not the township’s plan to pay for all this trash collection, as we are aware of the financial hardships. So maybe it is the township’s plan to put this up for millage. That would be a huge blunder because we know how that will end.
The supervisors from other communities have been quoted as saying ‘it will help the roads,? even though Craig Bryson from the Road Commission for Oakland County is quoted as saying, ‘it will not make a significant difference.? The supervisors have also said ‘it will save residents money.? At the present time, some residents are paying more than double what we are charging, but continue to enjoy their choice to pay more.
It seems to me that we, the residents, need to ask, why? After all the recent discoveries in Detroit regarding the awarding of contracts you have to ask, are there going to be kickbacks? Are the new haulers going to give some kind of free services in exchange? Why, of all the issues that are facing this township is this non-issue on the agenda? I cannot help but wonder if this was such an issue, why was it not a campaign issue?
Maybe we could be better served if the township could address real issues like property taxes that are so high they make our real estate worthless. Most of us moved here from cities and do not care to have the city way of living forced back on us.
If it’s not broke, don’t fix it.
Brian Cummings
Brandon Townshp