Turf war escalates between counties, builders

Published: July 2, 2009
Tags: roadwork, Wisconsin County Highway Association, Wisconsin Transportation Builders Association

Paul Snyder
paul.snyder@dailyreporter.com

If county highway administrators refuse to admit they are snatching work away from road builders, industry groups will force their point in the state Legislature.

For now, the two sides will try to negotiate a fair split of road construction projects, giving counties the freedom to get work done and builders the security of knowing they are not losing out on valuable opportunities.

“I want to be sure we’re not reacting to rumor or innuendo,” said Daniel Fedderly, executive director of the Wisconsin County Highway Association.

The rumors are true, say road builders, who argue counties have taken control of construction projects without bidding on them, denying the private sector millions of dollars worth of work.

In the last few years, the private sector blasted Shawano County for building a private driveway, Chippewa County for taking control of municipal projects without applying prevailing wages and Waupaca County for building some road projects as part of a new subdivision in Caledonia.

The issue boiled over during state budget deliberations when road builders prompted the state Senate to add a measure requiring counties competitively bid on projects costing more than $25,000. The measure also would have prevented counties from working on municipal projects in the absence of a legitimate bidder.

That amendment drew fire from county officials and led to a scaled-back measure preventing county crews from working on any project using private money. Gov. Jim Doyle vetoed the measure, calling it “overly broad.”

No matter how the two sides resolve their differences, the problem is overdue for a solution, said state Sen. Jim Holperin, D-Conover, and chairman of the Senate Committee on Transportation.

“I think counties’ main responsibility has been to maintain roads, not build them,” he said. “And I think some counties have gone beyond that.”

County highway officials and industry groups such as the Wisconsin Transportation Builders Association and the Construction Business Group agreed to set Aug. 17 as a deadline for agreement on the parameters for a standalone bill setting guidelines for dividing the work.

A balanced proposal could attract the support of state Rep. Mark Gottlieb, R-Port Washington.

“We ought to give public agencies the most flexibility in determining what’s most advantageous to taxpayers,” he said. “But I think working on projects that use private money is not an appropriate solution.”

If negotiations fail, road builders will craft their own bill, which could put the clamps on counties, said Robb Kahl, executive director of CBG.

“If there is a willingness to admit they’ve gone too far, I think there will be progress,” he said. “But it’s a different scenario if they think what they’re doing is OK. Then I’d say our bill could be at least as strong as the Senate amendment.”

Door County Administrator Michael Serpe said a proposal forcing counties to bid on all work costing more than $25,000 or preventing counties from working on municipal projects is unfair.

“It’s trying to kill a gnat with a sledgehammer,” he said. “There are irregularities that need to be discussed, but there are people that think all county highway departments should exist within a box. That is not a possibility.”

Kahl conceded that, of 72 Wisconsin counties, only about 10 take private work away from road builders. It is all the more reason, he said, to strike a balance so a few bad players do not ruin it for everybody.

“This legislation is going to have statewide impacts,” he said.

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