Prevailing Wage: Boom or Bust
• 7 p.m. Thursday at Monroe's City Hall. • Join state legislators, city officials, and business owners at a town hall meeting. See, hear and ask questions on how the proposed prevailing wage law will affect businesses.
MONROE - On Tuesday, the Monroe City Council unanimously passed a resolution opposing the proposed changes to the state's prevailing wage law. It calls for the state Legislature to remove the item from the governor's proposed budget bill.
The resolution sets the stage for a public town hall meeting at 7 p.m. today at Monroe's City Hall.
Monroe Mayor Ron Marsh has invited lawmakers, city officials, business owners, contractors and taxpayers to attend. State Rep. Brett Davis, R-Oregon, and Sen. John Erpenbach, D-Waunakee, are scheduled to answer questions.
Pam Christopher, executive director of Monroe Chamber of Commerce and Industry, has called for chamber members to attend.
"(The new changes) will require a great deal of more time for contractors and, in turn you, ... as it will take more time just for the paperwork side of things," she said in an e-mail to members.
Marsh said the number of city projects that will fall under the prevailing wage law could increase from about two to five projects per year to 80 to 100.
"It'll affect just about everything," Marsh said.
Marsh also expects extra paperwork involved for the city and contractors to be "labor-intensive."
On Monday, Marsh visited the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development seeking some answers to what the city would have to go through if the bill passes, especially in the event of an emergency project.
He will present those findings at tonight's meeting.
Gov. Jim Doyle is recommending lowering the threshold for local and state public works projects subject to the prevailing wage rate to $2,000, and eliminating the annual threshold adjustments that reflect changes in construction costs.
Doyle also is proposing to establish a prevailing wage law for publicly funded private construction projects, with the same $2,000 threshold.
The proposed changes are part of Doyle's executive budget bill for 2009-11, introduced Feb. 18.
Currently, prevailing wages, set by the state Department of Workforce Development (DWD), apply to projects costing more than $48,000 if one trade is involved and $234,000 if numerous trades are involved.
The Village of New Glarus passed the same resolution as Monroe on April 7.
The state Joint Committee on Finance finished its public hearings on the bill, now known as 2009 Assembly Bill 75 (AB 75), April 6. A final committee vote on the whole package is expected in late May or early June.
The resolution sets the stage for a public town hall meeting at 7 p.m. today at Monroe's City Hall.
Monroe Mayor Ron Marsh has invited lawmakers, city officials, business owners, contractors and taxpayers to attend. State Rep. Brett Davis, R-Oregon, and Sen. John Erpenbach, D-Waunakee, are scheduled to answer questions.
Pam Christopher, executive director of Monroe Chamber of Commerce and Industry, has called for chamber members to attend.
"(The new changes) will require a great deal of more time for contractors and, in turn you, ... as it will take more time just for the paperwork side of things," she said in an e-mail to members.
Marsh said the number of city projects that will fall under the prevailing wage law could increase from about two to five projects per year to 80 to 100.
"It'll affect just about everything," Marsh said.
Marsh also expects extra paperwork involved for the city and contractors to be "labor-intensive."
On Monday, Marsh visited the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development seeking some answers to what the city would have to go through if the bill passes, especially in the event of an emergency project.
He will present those findings at tonight's meeting.
Gov. Jim Doyle is recommending lowering the threshold for local and state public works projects subject to the prevailing wage rate to $2,000, and eliminating the annual threshold adjustments that reflect changes in construction costs.
Doyle also is proposing to establish a prevailing wage law for publicly funded private construction projects, with the same $2,000 threshold.
The proposed changes are part of Doyle's executive budget bill for 2009-11, introduced Feb. 18.
Currently, prevailing wages, set by the state Department of Workforce Development (DWD), apply to projects costing more than $48,000 if one trade is involved and $234,000 if numerous trades are involved.
The Village of New Glarus passed the same resolution as Monroe on April 7.
The state Joint Committee on Finance finished its public hearings on the bill, now known as 2009 Assembly Bill 75 (AB 75), April 6. A final committee vote on the whole package is expected in late May or early June.