Dear Editor,

Independence Township has formed a committee, of which I am a member, to study the question of whether the township should go with a single garbage hauler or stay with the current system of six independent haulers.
The ostensible purpose of the single hauler idea is to save roads. There are about 13 people on the committee, more or less evenly split between those who support the single hauler idea and those who oppose it.
In the initial meeting, committee members were split into two groups: those who oppose the idea and those who favor it. Each group came up with reasons for their position. These were documented and made available to the total committee.
I oppose this idea for these reasons:
1. Michigan small businesses have been battered by the COVID pandemic and Governor Whitmer’s irrational choices. We don’t need to add to this by putting five trash haulers out of business.
2. It’s unclear how the issue is to be decided. Superintendent Fisher sees it as a Board of Trustees decision. Township residents need to have a voice.
3. There is a simpler solution. Each subdivision should decide for itself whether it wants a single hauler or not, and then enter into a contract with the bid winner. For example, Oakhurst and Bridge Valley have one hauler in their subdivisions.
4. No waste hauler representatives are on the committee. It would seem more than sensible to include those who the township seeks to control given they have the most intimate knowledge of the system, how it works, and how it might be modified.
To mandate a single hauler solution to a problem that only effects some residents is unnecessary and clearly government overreach, not to mention the possibility of misconduct when a multi-million dollar contract is being awarded.

Sincerely,
Vincent Bozzone
Clarkston