IRON MOUNTAIN - The U.S. Department of Labor has determined prevailing wage. This means stimulus funds set aside for area weatherization projects to be completed by local contractors will be released.
Prevailing wage is the amount of money contractors pay their employees. Through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Tax Act of 2009 signed by President Barack Obama in February, the federal stimulus package will provide a $5 billion boost in weatherization programs across the nation. The state of Michigan received $97 million for this program.
Dickinson-Iron Community Services Agency (DICSA) is slated to receive $2.9 million in weatherization funds. Local contractors for the weatherization funds through the stimulus package have yet to be determined.
Jeffrey Heino, executive director of the agency, said with the use of stimulus funds there is a protocol that must be followed to identify contractors.
"We could not begin that until we have prevailing wage," he said.
The agency is beginning that process after being notified of the prevailing wage. Based on a survey by community action agencies, prevailing wage for Dickinson and
Iron Counties is $11.32 an hour. Heino added that amount was established by the Department of Labor and is specific to our area.
"The procurement process is going to require an advertisement in the paper and we will score contractors based on qualifications to meet our production goals," Heino said.
Heino said the agency received 418 applications since March from area residents for the program. There were 245 applications in Dickinson County and 173 applications in Iron County.
DICSA and almost all other government agencies chose to wait to release stimulus funds to contractors until prevailing wage was determined.
Tom Markey, a stimulus coordinator at the U.S. Department of Labor, said there is no reason to wait. The Departments of Energy and Labor said in their July 24 letter to states and nonprofits receiving the money that ''state and local agencies should be weatherizing homes now.''
''Davis-Bacon prevailing wage rates for residential construction exist in just about every part of the country, therefore, any state or community-action agency could have begun work as soon as they received their funds by paying these existing prevailing wage rates,'' Markey said in an article for The Associated Press.
Home weatherization is a process by which state-certified inspectors assess applicant homes and decide what measures will provide the greatest savings relative to investment. These may include attic and wall insulation, window replacement, caulking, energy efficient light bulbs, furnace tuning and repair or, in extreme cases, furnace replacement. The goal is to lower energy costs and consumption for income- eligible households - both renters and homeowners.
A few contractors are already at work on weatherization projects in Dickinson and Iron Counties through $171,000 that was given to the agency by the Department of Energy. DICSA receives a set amount for this program on an annual basis.
Lisa M. Hoffmann's e-mail address is lhoffmann@ironmountaindailynews.com