WisDOT outsourcing costs taxpayers millions

Milwaukee’s anti-slavery ordinance short on discovery

Published: October 19, 2012
Tags: contractors, Michael McGee

On a document required by Milwaukee, every contractor doing work for the city must answer a question that represents a well-meaning but futile attempt to seek absolution for a nation’s shame.

Contractor house of horrors: What to do when subs go bad

Published: October 12, 2012
Tags: contractors, subcontractors

Recently, I received a call from a general contractor and client with an all-too-common question: “I just had a subcontractor show up on site and tell me, ‘I’m going out of business and won’t finish the job.’ What do I do?”

Contracting report shines light, casts shadows

Published: July 13, 2012
Tags: Bill Lueders, contractors, Julie Lassa

A belatedly issued report on the state’s hiring of outside contractors is raising fresh questions about the integrity of the process.

Hiring of outside contractors increases 17 percent

Published: July 6, 2012
Tags: contractors, Department of Administration

The state and University of Wisconsin increased the hiring of private contractors by 17 percent over the 2011 fiscal year.

Ruling finds liability for contractors using subs

Published: October 31, 2011
Tags: contractors, subcontractors

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – A ruling from the Tennessee Supreme Court has made it easier for homeowners to hold contractors responsible for shoddy work by subcontractors. The court has found that contractors have a duty to perform services in a “careful, skillful, diligent and workmanlike manner” that can’t be fully delegated to another contractor they [...]

House repeals law withholding contractors’ taxes

Published: October 27, 2011
Tags: contractors, Obama, taxes

By  ALAN FRAM Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) – In a rare show of unity in a bitterly partisan year, the House voted overwhelmingly Thursday to repeal a law requiring federal, state and local governments to withhold 3 percent of what contractors are owed until they pay their taxes. Federal investigators have found tens of thousands [...]

Construction stimulus proposal gets mixed reviews

Published: October 18, 2011
Tags: Capital Improvements Committee, contractors, Gerard Froh, Ghassan Korban, Joe Dudzik, Robert Bauman, Tom Barrett

A proposed spending increase on small-scale construction projects could be unwise or infeasible for the city of Milwaukee, some city officials say.

Contractors hurry to beat MnDOT claims deadline

Published: July 28, 2011
Tags: AGC, Associated General Contractors of Minnesota, contractors, J&L Steel & Electrical Services, Minnesota Department of Transportation, MnDOT, Shafer Contracting, shutdown

By Brian Johnson Dolan Newswires Minneapolis — Bridge and highway builders who survived the 20-day state government shutdown face an unusual sort of deadline pressure this week: filing paperwork for claims related to government hiatus. In the aftermath of the shutdown, which stopped work on almost 100 state transportation projects from July 1 to 21, [...]

Federal bill targets construction accounting

Published: June 3, 2011
Tags: ABC, American Job Builders Tax Reform Act, Associated Builders and Contractors of America, Brandon Moody, contractors, David McKinley, J. H. Hassinger, Reid Ribble, Robin Word, tax credit, Tom Dufour, Wally Herger

By James Briggs A federal bill that’s gaining momentum could offer tax advantages to small and mid-sized contractors. The American Job Builders Tax Reform Act of 2011, sponsored by U.S. Reps. Wally Herger, R-Calif., and David McKinley, R-W. Va., would open up the completed-contract method of accounting to a majority of contractors, said Robin Word, [...]