Dear Editor,
(In response to ‘Despite battles, recalls, lawyers Goodrich operating efficiently,? The Citizen, July, 16, page 1):
Thanks to the findings of Karl Haiser, the certified public accountant hired by the village of Goodrich, the real facts on village finances are now clear. There is not deficit spending in the village. Goodrich is not going broke. Haiser had no previous professional or personal connection to any council members prior to his work for the village. Haiser is a consummate professional. He is a veteran of the Marine Corps. He has significant experience in municipal finance with other communities. He’s also worked for the FBI as a fraud examiner.
Village council member Doug McAbee was the single no vote in the decision to hire Haiser. Why? In spite of Haiser’s high level of credentials, McAbee still believes the findings are incorrect? Unbelievable. McAbee’s stubborn refusal to accept the authenticity of the facts is quite simply a profound embarrassment to our community. McAbee has no educational or professional experience to question the integrity of these findings. Accepting the facts would necessitate McAbee dropping the ill-informed agenda he inherited from Patricia Wartella. This same ill-informed agenda has always been based on a failure to understand village finances as a whole. This same ignorant agenda angered many who simply knew better. This same misguided agenda, and the lies and misinformation it perpetuated is the very root of the discord on the village council. It seems obvious that McAbee is foolishly driven to maintain the discord rather than move forward.
Janet Burt