The construction industry and Denver city officials are set to clash today over a legislative proposal that would dictate when the city must pay contractors.
The dispute concerns House Bill 1306, which would mandate that contractors receive payment within 25 to 60 days after receipt of an invoice for both public- and private-sector work.
Denis Berckefeldt, a spokesperson for Denver Auditor Dennis Gallagher, said the bill would gut Denver’s ability to enforce prevailing-wage rules.
Those rules allow Denver to withhold payment to a contractor until it comes into compliance with the city’s laws requiring prevailing industry wages.
But the House sponsor of the legislation, state Rep. James Riesberg, D-Greeley, said language is included that would allow later payments for just cause.
Riesberg added that he has offered to amend the bill to specifically mention prevailing wage as an issue that could delay payments.
Berckefeldt said that the legislation is unneeded and that he is sure it is targeted at Denver.
In fact, Berckefeldt said the city of Denver has its own prompt-payment ordinance, one that requires payment within 35 days after an invoice is approved and forwarded to an agency for payment.
He said that in the past five years, Denver has paid those invoices 99.1 percent of the time within 35 days after such approval.
Gary Meggison, a legislative committee spokesperson for the Associated General Contractors of Colorado and a senior vice president of Weitz Company Inc., said Denver is one of the biggest offenders in the state in making timely payment to contractors.
He said part of the problems stems from the bureaucratic hurdles involved in actually getting an invoice approved for payment, which then starts the clock ticking for compliance with Denver’s local law.
Meggison said he knows of many instances in which firms received pay from Denver late, “far in excess of 90 days in many circumstances,” after an invoice had been submitted.
Industry officials have been working on the legislation since March 2007, meeting every two weeks on the issue, he said.
Christopher N. Osher: 303-954-1747 or cosher@denverpost.com
