Getting a piece of the pie

By Candy Doyle
Editor

Web posted: July 24, 2001

Candy Doyle Editor

There's money to be had in public contracting; that's for sure.

Consider just the small city of Superior (population 27,000), which is spending $90 million on building projects this year.

But how do contractors get a piece of that pie? Are those lucrative jobs off limits to smaller contractors who don't know the political ropes? Or are the projects wrapped with so much red tape that some contractors - large and small - are dissuaded from bidding?

In this special section, we sought answers to those questions. Here, and in the pages that follow, is what we found:

• In an article written by The Daily Reporter's Sean Ryan, Staying in the Game, we learned that public works directors want qualified contractors on projects, regardless of the municipality's size or capital works budget. They don't play favorites, but the low bid rules.
  
  
• In staff writer Jeremy Harrell's Breaking the Code, we take a look at how the state Department of Commerce's new international commercial building codes - to be introduced in the next year - will impact municipalities, building inspectors and contractors. While the new system will take some getting used to, it's expected to speed up a project's review process - and save developers time and money.
  
  
• Where's the Work in Public Works? That's the title of an article penned by reporter Ellen Hickok-Wall, and the answer to the question is this: Everywhere. While civic centers and prisons top the list of projects under way this year, according to The Daily Reporter's database, the roster of projects includes mental health centers and courthouses, too. And projects can be found in all reaches of the state - from Superior, in the northeastern tip of Wisconsin, to Menomonee Falls in Waukesha County, where a $19 million civic center is planned.

Yes, there's money to be had, and we hope this special section steers you to your share of it.

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