December 20, 2007
To the Editor:
Never have the rights of so many been denied by so few. Last Friday and Saturday, hundreds of citizens of Sparta Township appeared in opposition to a forced, uniform garbage collection system.
Widows, trying to maintain their homes begged that this new cost not be imposed upon them. These pleas together with those of many other citizens were totally ignored by a slim majority of the Sparta Council.
Those voting yes chose to base their vote on a skewed internet poll which reflected the votes of less than 14 percent of the families of Sparta Township. The widows and senior citizens and those protesting were not asking to defeat the garbage collection system. They sought only to be able to opt out of the township imposed system and to continue their cheaper method of garbage disposal. They sought nothing more than that God given right of choice. What God had given, the Sparta Council took away. Those seniors struggling to keep their homes now have to struggle to get out a 30-gallon drum twice a week or if they don’t they will still be charged for it. No system is worth the erosion of individual rights.
We are told that there will be a savings based upon the new program. I, and many other Sparta citizens, refuse to believe that. Based upon his added responsibilities for running the utility, the manager will seek a substantial increase in pay and a new bureaucracy will have to be created to run this utility.
I respectfully disagree with those who contend that there is not an escape clause from the contract hastily entered into by the township. The escape clause is actually the form of government that we have in Sparta Township. The mechanism by which this contract is to be paid is through a utility.
Should the citizens of Sparta defeat that utility ordinance, then there is no method of payment in place. The obligation to pay does not shift to the general tax burden because that would be unconstitutional. The commercial establishments in Sparta Township are not part of the ordinance nor are places like the Sparta Commons and Green Tree. Those parts of the community would be taxed twice, once to pay for the garbage collection of private homes and their own by private contract. Long ago, we had taken a stand against taxation without representation. If those responsible for the passage of this unfair system believe that someone is responsible to pay on this contract then they should notify their insurance companies.
The real question is how much is the right to choose worth. Those who want to have their garbage picked up twice a week in 30-gallon cans have that right but those who want to do it differently have been deprived of that right. The citizens of Sparta Township are overregulated, over policed, and overtaxed. Coupled with those heavy burdens, they have lost their right to choose.
It is a sad commentary that the only place in Sparta Township where you can have it your way is Burger King.
Yours very truly,
George T. Daggett, Sparta
