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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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The Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) funds are to adhere to the same rules as the Community Block Development Grant (CDBG). So where is the Genesee County Metropolitan Planning Commission-who should know all of the rules- in the decision-making process.
I recently researched a similar matter and if my memory serves me correctly, there is a provision for volunteer labor in federal programs. Also the Planning Commission should have been monitoring this procedure from the beginning and asked HUD for a determination. Federal Regulations prohibit the violation of state laws in the implementation of federally regulated programs.
I believe as many did who commented, the argument for journeyman wages for individuals who are novices is ridiculous.
Genesee County inmates might get paid $26 an hour for working on roof
Published: Sunday, January 22, 2012, 8:00 AM
By Ron Fonger | Flint Journal
GENESEE COUNTY, Michigan -- Jail inmates who helped to work on the roof of a county-owned building in October might end up with more than good-time credit and the satisfaction of paying back a debt to society.
Some county officials say the 11 prisoners, part of a Sheriff's Office work detail, have to be paid the prevailing wage for a journeyman roofer -- more than $26 an hour -- because the project was paid for with a U.S. Department of Energy grant.
Jamie Curtis
Sheriff Robert Pickell said he doesn't want to pay prisoners and said he had already made arrangements for the subcontractor on the job to make a donation to the county instead.
So far, Pickell has refused to turn over a list of inmates who worked on the job for about six hours each in October.
"I said, this is good. I can put these people to work and (National Roofing & Sheet Metal of Burton) can pay the county," Pickell said. "I'm not for paying (the inmates)."
County documents show other officials also believe the inmates should have been paid at least $26.21 an hour and fringe benefits of at least $17.95 each.
In December, the county issued a formal notice of violation of federal labor standards to Johnson Controls Inc., the primary contractor, for a federally funded, $9.4-million grant to pay for energy conservation projects in the county, including resealing and repairing roofs on county buildings.
The Flint Journal could not reach representatives of Johnson Controls or National Roofing Friday.
Curtis wrote to the Energy Department Wednesday, asking for direction about what to do.
Although Curtis' letter asks for direction from the DOE, he said he believes the inmates will eventually be be paid for their work, and said Pickell should "have never used those people" to help with the job.
"The use of work release inmates was neither part of the contract with (Johnson Controls) or part of the subcontract with National Roofing, nor was such use approved by Genesee County," Curtis wrote in his letter.
"We are going to the feds and saying, 'Look, we got a problem here,' " Curtis said. |
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Sun Jan 22, 2012 1:01 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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The question is what will the subcontractor be paying the ccounty for? Even the City of Flint had to pay for the deputy surpervising work crews. But I don't know if I support the subcontractor paying for the work crew services.
If a prisoner had been injured, who would have been responsible? |
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Sun Jan 22, 2012 1:04 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Here is a program that was given funding through NSP for volunteer labor. While only $400,000, HUD appreciates programs that can leverage support, finances and other resources that make the funding accomplish more. HUD and he federal government do not expect to be a sole source of funding.
Citi Volunteers Rebuild Brentwood Home For Habitat Family
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June 28, 2011
Habitat for Humanity of Suffolk and Citi volunteer employees begin first of three home renovations in partnership with Town of Islip’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program in Brentwood
(Brentwood, NY) - A working partnership between Habitat for Humanity of Suffolk, HUD’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP), The Town of Islip and several private funding sources have made it possible to renovate three homes in Islip for hard working low-income families. On June 16, volunteers from Citi and Habitat joined future homeowners Alix and Toni Harris in restoring the home at 48 Bruce Lane, Brentwood.
In 2008 The Town of Islip was awarded $3.7 million from HUD’s NSP I funding. Habitat Suffolk was brought in as a program partner to help develop affordable home ownership opportunities for families earning less than 50% of area medium income. Approximately $400,000 was granted to Habitat Suffolk to purchase three properties, including the one on Bruce Lane. Habitat Suffolk has brought in private sponsorship funds to completely renovate each home.
The Harris home renovation is being sponsored with funds and volunteers from Thrivent Financial for Lutherans and Citi. This is the ninth Habitat Suffolk project that Thrivent Builds has supported and the 12th Habitat Suffolk home sponsored by Citi. Alix and Toni and their children Benjamin (2) and Catherine (8 months) will live in the fully restored three bedroom home. Harris works locally for a global media company as a masters control operator and Toni is a stay-at-home mom.
Citi, a long-time Habitat Suffolk sponsor, has also contributed funds for this project and representatives from the company will assist throughout the renovation process. “Citi is proud to partner with Habitat here in Suffolk County. This is an important program and our volunteer employees are ready to help,” said Pat Edwards, Citi, V.P. Community Development for Long Island.
Caption : left to right: Flanking the volunteers from Citi are Alix and Toni Harris y (far left seated) and (far right) Paul Fink, Executive Director, Islip Community Development Agency and Pat Edwards, Citi, V.P. Community Development for Long Island.
Habitat for Humanity of Suffolk is a nonprofit Christian housing ministry dedicated to building decent, affordable housing in partnership with low-income working families in Suffolk County. Since 1987, Habitat for Humanity of Suffolk has helped to house 148 families. For more information, visit www.habitatsuffolk.org. |
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Sun Jan 22, 2012 3:49 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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The Department of Energy has a program (Rebuild America) that focuses on volunteer organizations such as Habitant for Humanity!
RESNET Raters VolunteerOverview. Since 1995, The U.S. Department of Energy's Building America program has ... these homes as part of the HUD. Neighborhood Stabilization Program. (NSP). Part of this program is improving energy efficiency through the use of high ...http://www.ba-pirc.org/habitat/pdf/Case%20study%20_South-SarasotaHFH.pdf - - Cached - Similar pages |
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Sun Jan 22, 2012 3:57 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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However, under this rule the volunteers would have to be paid.
Davis Bacon | Department of EnergyYes, the school would have to pay the volunteers the prevailing wage rate if the .... The Department of Energy's (DOE) Semi-Annual Davis-Bacon Enforcement ..... For example, our State is about to issue 116 sub-grants and maintaining all the ...http://energy.gov/gc/action-center-office-general-counsel/faqs-related-recovery-act/davis-bacon - 184k
If a school receives a State Energy Program (SEP) grant from the State Energy Office for several projects involving energy efficiency conservation and uses volunteers to install some of the energy efficiency retrofits and contractors to install other retrofits, would the school have to pay the volunteers prevailing wages?
Yes, the school would have to pay the volunteers the prevailing wage rate if the volunteers and contractor workforce are performing the work at the same time.
The Departmnet of Labor states in its Field Operations Handbook (§15e23): “There are no exceptions to Davis-Bacon coverage for volunteer labor unless an exception is specifically provided for in the particular Davis-Bacon Related Act under which the project funds are derived.” The Davis-Bacon Related Act for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) is silent on this subject of an exception for volunteer labor. Therefore, on ARRA-funded projects subject to Davis-Bacon coverage, the school must pay all workers the prevailing wage.
Our state is going to provide two ARRA-funded SEP gants for training programs. The students will be learning about photovoltaic systems (“PV systems” or “solar power systems”). The first part of the training program involves educational theory and then there will be a hands-on workshop where students attending the class will participate in the installation of a PV system. The grant covers training and cost of the PV system materials. This is a “learning while doing” kind of training program/opportunity that we find worth funding. The first grant involves training conducted by the regional electric journeyman apprenticeship training center. The PV system will be owned by the training center and the training center is providing the cost share to the grant. The second grant involves training conducted by a private consultant and the PV systems will be installed on public school buildings. Would the students have to be paid prevailing wages for the time they are installing the PV system?
Under the ARRA, the DBA applies to laborers and mechanics employed by contractors and subcontractors at a DBA-covered construction work site. The installation of a PV system paid for by ARRA funds would be subject to the DBA. Students/trainees/apprentices in a program approved by a State apprenticeship agency or DOL’s Office of Employment and Training may be employed on the project in accordance with the hourly wage contained in the approved program, expressed as a percentage of the DBA wage. If the training program is not a DOL or State approved training program, the students would have to be paid the full DBA prevailing wage while installing the PV system. |
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Sun Jan 22, 2012 4:22 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Roofing company sends Genesee County money to pay inmates $44 an hour
Published: Monday, January 23, 2012, 4:20 PM
By Ron Fonger | Flint Journal
GENESEE COUNTY, Michigan -- A Burton company has delivered the money to pay 10 jail inmates more than $44 an hour for their work on the roof of a county-owned building last year.
Now the inmates will have to wait for the federal government to determine whether they will get to split the $2,649 for the six hours they worked on the job in October.
Robert Pickell
Gary Sova, president of National Roofing and Sheet Metal Company Inc. of Burton, delivered the check -- to be held in escrow -- to the county today.
A Flint Journal story detailed a standoff between Sheriff Robert Pickell and other county officials over whether the prisoners should have been paid prevailing wage for their brief time on the job.
Both Sova and Pickell said they were attempting to work with inmates who might be interested in joining an apprenticeship roofing program once they got out of jail.
Pickell had suggested -- and Sova had paid the county $444 -- an amount equal to minimum wage for the inmates' time last November as well.
Sova said today it was his mistake for not realizing the roofing job required anyone working on it be paid prevailing wage for a journeyman roofer -- more than $26 an hour plus benefits of 17.95 per hour -- because the project was paid for with a U.S. Department of Energy grant.
Although county documents indicate 11 inmates worked on the National Roofing crew, Sova said there were just 10.
Pickell has said he doesn't want to pay the prisoners on the work detail, who typically receive "good time" credit but no wages, but said today he will do what the DOE asks.
County Board of Commissioners Chairman Jamie Curtis last week wrote to the DOE, asking for direction about what to do because of a possible conflict in the federal law and a state law that says jail inmates cannot be paid.
Curtis is among commissioners who said the inmates should have never been used on the job.
The sheriff routinely sends his work crew to help on projects that benefit nonprofit and public agencies, but he raised eyebrows when he assigned the inmates to work with a private company.
Sova said the inmate labor amounted to an orientation and some hands-on work with coatings to make the roof of the McCree Human Services Building more energy efficient.
Sova agreed that the inmates probably will have to be paid because of the federal Davis-Bacon Act, which requires prevailing wage be paid to workers on all federally-funded projects.
The rate for a journeyman roofer in the county is at least $26.21 per hour and $17.95 in fringe benefits, according to county documents.
In December, the county issued a formal notice of violation of federal labor standards to Johnson Controls Inc., the primary contractor, for the energy conservation project because of the arrangement.
National was a subcontractor on that job for Johnson Controls.
Sova said he still has interest in creating a program that gives jail inmates the chance to try working in a trade like roofing without having to pay them for the opportunity.
"I thought it was a perfect opportunity to have these guys decide if they like it," Sova said. "(The sheriff) can get them out and get them a job."
Pickell said the work was a "wonderful opportunity" for someone who was incarcerated to see if they could handle the work once they left jail. |
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Tue Jan 24, 2012 2:59 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Genesee County commissioner says guidelines for sheriff's work program may be needed
Published: Tuesday, January 24, 2012, 7:00 AM
By Ron Fonger | Flint Journal
GENESEE COUNTY, Michigan -- County Commissioner Patrick Gleason says guidelines for when the sheriff's work detail is used may need to be reviewed after a crew was used on one job that may require each inmate be paid more than $44 an hour.
"This is going to have to be addressed," said Gleason, D-Richfield Twp. "I think we are going to get involved."
Patrick Gleason
Ten or 11 inmates worked six hours with a Burton roofing company late last year, and several county officials have said the federal grant-funded work requires the prisoners be paid the same wages and benefits as a journeyman roofer.
Pickell said he was attempting to give a handful of inmates an opportunity to get a foot in the door if they were interested in entering an apprentice program for roofers once they got out of jail.
The sheriff said he stopped the arrangement after six hours and didn't realize prevailing wage requirements were tied to the job.
On Monday, Gary Sova, the president of National Roofing and Sheet Metal Company, put money to pay the inmates in escrow so that it can be used for the prisoner wages and benefits if the federal government requires it.
Sova, who said he was at fault for not realizing the prevailing wage requirement, said the sheriff's work crew did little work, comparing their six hours on the job to an orientation.
Gleason said inmates should not have been used on the job, saying it cost 10 or 11 roofers "one days' worth of wages."
"No way should we be putting inmates to work for a private business," Gleason said. |
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Tue Jan 24, 2012 3:03 pm |
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