The head of the organisation closing its disability employment service in Millicent has yet to respond to repeated requests to visit the town.

Bedford chief executive Myron Mann has twice been asked by Wattle Range Mayor Des Noll and his council to have a face-to-face meeting with the 17 employees who will lose their jobs in the long-running commercial laundry and garden maintenance service.

The latest invitation arose from a motion at the December monthly council meeting and Mayor Noll has since said he is disappointed that Mr Mann has not yet replied.

The SE Voice specifically asked the Bedford media unit about the mayoral invitation to Mr Mann.

In reply, the Bedford media unit issued a statement on his behalf about the Millicent closure decision but there was no reference to the mayoral invitation.

Instead, Mr Mann referred to the Millicent closure in general terms, the affected employees were being assisted with other opportunities and that Bedford was investing $3m into its timber plant at Mount Gambier.

“To date, we have been in communication with the Wattle Range Council, State Government, regional business groups, ABC Radio and in a public online forum with the Millicent Social Issues Group to inform them of our decision to close based on ongoing financial losses over several years,” Mr Mann said.