SO the facts show that the prevailing wage bid for the Rodgers Theatre came in much lower than the non-prevailing wage estimate used by the national lobbying firm. Colusa should not cost taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars to please an industry lobbyist group making false claims.

Unfortunately, the ABC fails to examine the actual facts. According to the letter from the Corning Community Foundation, the estimate was provided by Mr. Richard Rezendes of C&R Construction. The letter goes on to state that Rezendes has previously volunteered his time to the Friends of the Theatre Committee (a local fundraising organization), and that his non-prevailing wage “estimate is based upon his donation of any profit….” We also note that the estimate provided to the Corning Community Foundation is not a public record, and thus it is impossible to determine exactly how Rezendes came up with his numbers.

Most importantly, the ABC should have investigated what exactly happened with the bid. The City of Corning accepted bids for the Rogers Theatre re-roofing and improvement project (with prevailing wages required) on September 21st 2010. On September 28th 2010, the City Council awarded the project to Don Azevedo Construction of Chico for $176,609.00. This figure even included an Alternative Bid Item (asbestos abatement).

Reports to the City Council as well as news articles indicate that work is progressing in a timely manner, with four progress payments already made. Another successful prevailing wage project!

25-38% savings? Really? This is an absurd number unless you think construction workers will work for free and chip in out of their own pocket for material costs as a donation to the city.

please visit www.smartcitiesprevail.org for the truth about prevailing wages.

The absurd claim that you can save 25-38% traces back to a national special interest lobbying firm's "report". Here is the analysis of that 25-38% claim which turns out to be a total fabrication of the actual facts:

ABC States a Fact, But the Facts Say Otherwise

ABC says prevailing wage project would cost $274,751. Actual bid was $176,609.

Looks like the ABC has been caught once again spinning the numbers. The ABC’s Charter City report cites an anecdotal example of the supposed cost savings of prevailing wage, pointing to the City of Corning (Tehama County) obtaining estimates for a roof repair of the historic Rodgers Theatre. In 2009, the non-profit Corning Community Foundation sought a quote from a local general contractor who estimated that the roof repair cost was $221,748, but if state prevailing wages were required, the estimated cost would be $274,751.

Charter City consideration cost the City of Elk Grove taxpayers about $250,000 and because it was so controversial locally it never went forward.

And don't forget bankrupt charter city Vallejo.

With a charter city it becomes easier to raise local resident and local business taxes, fees and levies and city council can give themselves and staff raises with no cap. General law cities limit pay for city council according to population size.

With charter cities there is NO limit on penalties and fees the city can charge residents and local businesses. With a general law city the cap is $1,000. Its not that Colusa residents aren't active but many are working two and three jobs to stay afloat in this economy and don't have time to look at every agenda and attend every council meeting to watch for these things.

Colusaresident you should know that the group pushing to exempt prevailing wages is a national special interest lobbying firm. They spend money at the state and national level and send their report to small localities in the hopes that someone will buy their lobbyist spin.

National lobbying firms have no place telling Colusa what to do! Many local working families in Colusa rely on prevailing wages. My friend and Colusa resident Mike Avalos is a non union plumber who has worked prevailing wage jobs for years. Prevailing wages have made it possible for him to prosper and give back to the local Colusa economy through sales tax and property taxes. He and other Colusa residents don't deserve this attack by national lobbyists trying to syphon off local money from local residents.

Prevailing wages do not raise costs on public works construction projects because workers on prevailing wage projects tend to be higher skilled, better trained, more productive, and less prone to serious and fatal injuries on the job site. As a result you have fewer delays, lower supervisory and management costs and less maintenance costs over a structure’s lifespan due to higher quality construction.

There is no credible research which supports the assertion that eliminating prevailing wage standards lowers public works construction costs. To the contrary research shows that you can actually INCREASE your costs and your risks by abolishing prevailing wage and inviting in these precarious elements.

The website www.smartcitiesprevail.org has all the research and facts on prevailing wage.

The wildy inaccurate figures the Colusa City Manager is using have been conveniently provided by a National special interest lobbying group...unfortunately they are complete lies and harmful to working middle class families in Colusa.

The LIE that "the elimination of the (prevailing wage) requirement generally saves between 25 and 38 percent on the costs of capital projects" is not only a complete fabrication it is also incredibly damaging to the working families in Colusa who rely on prevailing wage standards to feed their families in these incredibly hard times.

Direct construction labor and fringe benefits accounted for only 22% of total construction costs in California according to the 2007 Census of Construction. To save 20% by cutting wages overall would require paying workers well below the federal minimum wage at an illegal rate if at all. Research shows that lowering local standards for construction wages tends to attract a lower skilled out-of-area workforce resulting in large productivity losses that eat up any hoped for wage savings on the construction project. Cities also open themselves up to higher costs in other areas.
http://www.smartcitiesprevail.org/real_costs.html