CIFAC Winter Newsletter 2003

President��s Message

On behalf of the officers and staff of CIFAC, I wish you, your family and colleagues a very happy, healthy and prosperous 2003. I want to thank CIFAC��s other officers -- Harold Mucker, Frank Herrera and Mike Hester --- for their contribution and energy. I also want to thank our Board of Directors and all of you for all the leads you gave us for investigations. The last year was a very productive one for CIFAC. In 2002 we were able to provide our contractor members with more opportunities to bid on new projects that resulted in greater job opportunities for their union employees. A summary of accomplishments is listed below.

There is little doubt that the public works construction industry is faced with a major challenge in 2003. The California Budget crisis and accompanying funding cuts will affect highway, road and other types of public works construction. Newly passed bond measures authorizing funds for other types of public works jobs, such as school-site construction or renovation, may be held back or diverted to offset State Budget shortfalls. According to the Construction Industry Research Board figures, whenever the State has a budget crisis, force account violations rise significantly. These crises cause California public agencies to scramble to do more with less. There is far greater temptation to keep new construction or remodeling work in-house.

Looking ahead, I asked CIFAC��s Field Representatives to focus on networking. Over the years, CIFAC��s actions including investigation, litigation, legislation and public relations, have acted as a deterrent to agencies�� flagrant violations of the Public Contract code. In 2002 we found that our coverage broadened through the contributions of our network. CIFAC gained visibility. Most Northern California local government Public Works Directors have heard about CIFAC. This helped us resolve problems before they escalated into legal actions.

We look forward to working with you in 2003. Please visit our website at http://cifac.org, email us at cifac@sbcglobal.net or call us at 1-800-755-3354. As always, we welcome your leads, ideas and participation.