State budget targets Milwaukee prevailing wage, local preference laws

When Gov. Scott Walker signs the 2011-13 state budget into law Sunday in Green Bay, it may contain a repeal of Milwaukee’s law requiring prevailing wages on private projects that get financial support from the city.

Milwaukee officials on Friday asked Walker to veto a portion of the budget that eliminates the prevailing wage law, which went into effect when the Common Council approved the ordinance in 2009.

The budget includes a line that bans local governments from “administering current ordinances with prevailing wage provisions,” according to a news release from Milwaukee Alderman Ashanti Hamilton.

Hamilton said the budget would kill the law. He also said it would take away valuable apprenticeship training and job opportunities for residents of Milwaukee’s poorest neighborhoods.

According to the release, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett sent a letter to Walker last week, urging him to use a line-item veto on the provision.

• The budget would also eliminate Milwaukee’s bidding preference for local companies. The law gives Milwaukee-based companies a 5 percent bidding cushion, with a cap of $25,000, when bidding on city contracts.