Dear Editor,
We are beginning to wonder just what in the heck is going on in the Village of Goodrich. At one time, we thought Councilperson Wartella was a bit of a radical and had some crazy ideas. Now it appears that she is the only one in touch with the real world. As she keeps saying, ‘Michigan, Genesee County, Atlas Township and the Village of Goodrich are all suffering financially.? Yet the Village is looking at adopting a budget that dips into their savings without even considering reducing hours, wages or benefits. Are these people living in the same state we are? Huge companies are going bankrupt, people are losing jobs, wages and benefits are being reduced all over the state. Yet it’s business as usual in the Village of Goodrich.
Let’s do some simple math. Atlas Garage Genesee County Road Commission has six or seven full-time employees. They are responsible for maintaining the roads in three townships, which is a 108 square mile area. That equates to between 15 or 18 square miles per employee. The Village of Goodrich has just a little over 1.5 square miles to maintain. They have three full-time employees making very good wages with excellent benefits. This equates to about a half square mile per employee. Why?
One more question: why did Village Manager Jakki Sidge refuse to accept a bid from Richfield Equities for waste collection? They offered a bid that provided the same or better service than we currently have. We also understand that they offered a much lower bid than any of the competition. We would have all saved a few bucks. Yet Sidge would not even allow them to bid. Someone needs to explain these things to us.
Dennis and Diane Fredericks
Goodrich