[Davisgig] Prevailing Wage Considerations

[Robert Nickerson]

Hi

Unless the Davis Funding Club and some banks finance DCN to construct 
this network on behalf of the town, we plan for the PWL to apply in our 
case. It will be interesting to see how this develops as we get more input.

Thanks

RAN

On 8/10/2016 9:23 PM, Jim Frame wrote:
> It's not too early to start thinking about the contracting and 
> construction aspects of a municipal fiber network.  We need to be 
> cognizant of the ramifications of public funding, even if it's for 
> work preparatory to construction of the project.  As a rule of thumb, 
> if any public monies get into the mix, prevailing wage regulations 
> apply to the entire project, and that can dramatically increase the 
> cost of construction.  (I don't think the feasibility study qualifies, 
> but once the effort becomes a "public works project" the funding 
> sources matter, even prior to actual construction.)
>
> If the build is done with the city as the contracting agency, there's 
> no question that the rules apply.  But if it's built for a private 
> non-profit, the question goes to the source of funds.
>
> I'm not suggesting that paying prevailing wages is necessarily a bad 
> thing, just that it's a factor worthy of consideration.  And the 
> earlier the better in order to prevent any unintentional commitments.
>
> The reason I bring this up now is that in doing some research in 
> connection of my own business -- prevailing wage requirements can be 
> maddeningly complex and confusing -- I came across a Department of 
> Industrial Relations ruling on a fiber project.  The project owners 
> thought they were exempt from the regs, but the DIR ruled otherwise.
>
> For anyone who wants to dive into the details, the ruling document can 
> be found here:
>
> http://www.dir.ca.gov/OPRL/coverage/year2015/2013-015(A).pdf
>