On the heels of Casper College awarding the Gateway Project to an out-of-state based firm and the Casper Area Economic Development Association (CAEDA) only short listing companies from outside Wyoming for the local business incubator project, the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) of Wyoming is calling foul on the increasing trend of government entities awarding contracts to out-of-state based firms.
"Too many major school, college, and other publically funded projects are being contracted with companies that are not from Wyoming," says Josh Carnahan, ABC Wyoming President, "During these economic times, citizens look to the government to help re-build the economy, awarding these projects to companies with little or no investment in our state does little to improve the long term well being of our local economy."
When out-of-state based firms are utilized to build major construction projects, the community is left with a building, a bridge, or a road, but with less accountability from those who built it and little of the money spent on the project stays in our community or in Wyoming.
When used with local businesses, capitol construction dollars circulate through the local economy many times, providing jobs and greater tax base throughout the community. The community still gets the building, road or bridge, but also gets the accountability of a business that will be around to stand by their work.
Some entities claim they save money with out-of-state based builders, however these claims have yet to be supported by factual data of what they are told these projects will cost and the actual final expense of these projects.
ABC of Wyoming is advocating a much more transparent, fair, open and competitive public process for selecting architects, engineers, contractors and subcontractors for public construction projects, in particular when dealing with independent consultants or project managers who have little or no experience building in Wyoming or relationships with Wyoming’s construction industry.
ABC of Wyoming is also committed to tightening up the definition and enforcement of resident business in preference statutes, as well as expanding preference to alternative delivery methods. Loopholes in the statute allow certain businesses with insignificant investment in the state be eligible to become a resident business/contractor. A person must reside in Wyoming one full year before they are eligible for a resident hunting or fishing license, but a resident Limited Liability Company only requires an address and a driver’s license.
"When resident architects are used, it is more likely resident general contractors and engineers will be used, and it is more likely resident subcontractors will be used. This all trickles down and feeds our local economy, over and over," says Carnahan, "A lot of folks are calling on Wyoming citizens to buy local, but when government agencies, colleges, and the University award so many of these jobs to out-of-state firms, one has to ask, why should we buy local, when our government isn’t?"
The Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) of Wyoming is a non-profit association of over 120 commercial, industrial and residential contractors and businesses that supply materials and services to the industry. ABC members build hundreds of millions of dollars worth of projects in Wyoming every year. Most of our members are involved in the construction of large scale projects, including retail stores, office buildings, hotels, schools and hospitals. Our members employ hundreds of employees that live and work primarily in Wyoming.