Wednesday, March 14, 2018

A misunderstanding about the Marinwood Fire Department Kitchen is Corrected.





From Marinwood CSD Director, Eric Dreikosen  on 3/14/2018

Dear Stephen,

With all sincerity, I would genuinely like to know why you feel the threshold for paying prevailing wages on public works projects is $25,000?  Please cite the specific government code you believe supports this and I will gladly research it further.

Respectfully,
Eric







From Stephen Nestel on 3/14/ 2018:

Dear Eric, Chief Roach, Marinwood CSD board members, Marin IJ staff and Marinwood Taxpayers:

You are correct to be concerned about following government contracting law, especially after so many missteps during the kitchen bidding process. When the problem with Kitchen arose in February 2017, you did not know that Governor Brown had changed DIR law to allow small projects under $25,000 on January 10, 2017 to take effect on July 1, 2017.  

Keeping current on changing laws can be challenging, however in May 2017,  I believe you acknowledged the law would be changing on July 2017.  You have persisted with a misunderstanding of the law insisting that the contract could only be satisfied with a DIR approved contractor at a great cost to the district .Only ONE CONTRACTOR, who coincidentally a personal friend of the Chief and Marinwood CSD member was considered qualified.  

This is false.  Contractors on small public works projects DO NOT have to be DIR contractors but they need to pay prevailing wages and keep records.  That is quite a different interpretation than the one reported to the board.  It seems to me that reason the small projects exception was created was to allow small districts to get projects done without a cumbersome DIR contracting process.  The DIR contractors are not interested in these small projects either.  

All the law says is that if the project is less than $25,000 is we do not have to adhere to the DIR process.  If we pay more than $1000 in wages, we must pay "prevailing wage".  This seems fair to me.  We will pay union wages and get the job done quickly by contracting this directly.  The electrician and plumber will likely charge union wages anyhow.  The cabinets are manufactured in a factory (just like the one's that DIR contractor would provide) and are not a factor and the only other labor is the delivery and installation by Granite Expo.  

I have no idea if Granite Expo is a union shop.  My guess is that it is not.  In this case,  I suggest we get a bid from them on labor and recalculate it for "union rates" and offer to pay them a higher wage rate if you feel this is necessary.

Marinwood CSD and FD will comply with the DIR law by paying fair wages and will also get a good price from the granite expo, get the kitchen installed by April 15, 2018 and save taxpayers thousands .

Lastly, I hasten to point out that the district regularly employs/contracts people at "non union" wages all the time.  Pool maintenance, delivery sales people, air conditioner repair, grounds, cleaning, etc.  I personally don't think this project is exceptionally different.

So let's make this project happen. Go to www.thegraniteexpo.com  today and pick out the exact cabinets and countertops and sign the order.  The firemen will be happy, you'll save money and make the Marinwood CSD district proud.

Sincerely




Stephen Nestel

Marinwood









From California Department of Industrial Relations Website HERE

Are there any exceptions to the registration requirement?
Contractors who work exclusively on small public works projects are not required to register as a public works contractor or file electronic certified payroll reports for those projects. Contractors are still required to maintain certified payroll records on a continuous basis, and provide them to the Labor Commissioner’s Office upon request. Additionally, awarding agencies are not required to submit the notice of contract award through DIR’s PWC-100 system on projects that fall within the small project exemption. The small project exemption applies for all public works projects that do not exceed:
  • $25,000 for new construction, alteration, installation, demolition or repair  
  • $15,000 for maintenance

5 comments:

  1. The website you reference just says that contractors don't have to register if they work on projects that are under $25,000. It has absolutely nothing to do with the legal requirements of the CSD and who they can hire. From the website you reference:

    What if an awarding body has a single small job for $250 or a series of jobs with the same contractor/vendor that total over $1,000?
    Prevailing wage requirements apply to public works projects over $1,000. The law does not permit jobs to be parceled in order to avoid the $1,000 threshold. If the awarding body knows that total yearly project costs or projects awarded to the same vendor will exceed $1,000, that vendor must be registered with the DIR as a public works contractor, and the contract for those projects should be registered using the PWC-100 form.

    You are still wrong.

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  2. Your reading comprehension must be poor or you are deliberately deceiving the public. According to the California Department of Industrial Relations website linked above:

    4.) Are there any exceptions to the registration requirement?

    The contractor registration requirement does not apply to contractors working solely on public works projects awarded prior to April 1, 2015. Some exceptions allow contractors to bid on federally funded projects or submit joint venture bids without first being registered, as long as the contractors that are parties to the joint venture and the joint venture are registered at the time the contract is awarded.
    Contractors who work exclusively on small public works projects are not required to register as a public works contractor or file electronic certified payroll reports for those projects. Contractors are still required to maintain certified payroll records on a continuous basis, and provide them to the Labor Commissioner’s Office upon request. Additionally, awarding agencies are not required to submit the notice of contract award through DIR’s PWC-100 system on projects that fall within the small project exemption. The small project exemption applies for all public works projects that do not exceed:

    $25,000 for new construction, alteration, installation, demolition or repair
    $15,000 for maintenance

    ========================

    How can you be confusted?

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  3. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  4. Do you think this official communication is a lie? Read this: http://www.dir.ca.gov/DIRNews/2017/2017-56.pdf

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  5. Just because a contractor doesn't have to be registered for jobs under $25,000 doesn't eliminate the requirement that a registered contractor be used for jobs over $1,000. They are two different rules, one pertaining to contractors and the other pertaining to the agency and who it can hire.

    ReplyDelete