Quarterly Newsletter
Bylaw Revisions • Member Meeting | BuildPAC Fundraiser | Golf Outing • Raffle Tickets • Solutions for Workforce Housing Shortage • Survey Results & New Survey • Fair Labor Standards Act • Whirlpool’s All-Expenses-Paid Trip to Chicago Contest • Upcoming DSPS It Changes • New Affinity Partner & Other Member Benefits • In the News
Attention: Notice of WBA Bylaw Revisions
On April 4, the WBA Executive Committee voted on a package of minor bylaw changes.
Explanation of proposed changes:
Page 3, Article VI, Section 3 (c): updated language for NAHB Leadership Council replaces Board of Directors to match with new NAHB language
Page 5, Article VI, Section 15: executive committee meeting requirements changed from 4 to 3 times per year to match requirements for the WBA Board of Directors
Page 5, Article VII: Reflect the current procedure of a review instead of an audit
Page 10, Article IX, Section 1 (e): Change from “will” to “may” to match current practice and flexibility to form networks in the future
Page 11, Article IX, Section 3: Delete audit committee and have the Finance Committee assume all fiscal duties and responsibilities
Page 10, Article IX, Section 1(c): Move and rename the Past Officers Committee to a Past Leadership network to reflect the current practice
View bylaw changes here. For any questions, please email Exec. Director Brad Boycks.
Three Events, Two Days
It’s that time of the year again! The summer member meeting, BuildPAC fundraiser, and WB Foundation golf outing will be taking place over two days in June instead of its usual July. Come for one or come for all!
Wednesday, June 26
SentryWorld Golf Course | Stevens Point
8:30am - Registration & Complimentary Breakfast
9:00am-10:30am Advocacy Group Meeting
Guest Speaker: Devala Janardan, NAHB Office of Legal Affairs
10:45am-12:00pm Membership & Local Officers Group Meeting
Guest Speaker: DWD Secretary Caleb Frostman; New Hiring Grant Program
12:00pm - 1:00pm Complimentary Lunch
1:00pm-3:15pm Board of Directors Meeting
Guest Speaker: TBD
4:30pm-6:00pm Build PAC Fundraiser at Central Waters Brewing Co. ($100 personal check required upon entrance)
Event includes brewery tour, tasting, transportation to/from Cobblestone Hotel, and hors d’oeuvres
Thursday, June 27
SentryWorld Golf Course | Stevens Point
Your attendance at the golf outing will help the WB Foundation’s effort to promote and support future builders in the state of Wisconsin. Funds raised will go towards scholarships for students going into the building trades. With your help, we can ensure that Wisconsin students receive the opportunities they need!
Raffle Tickets
Raffle tickets are currently for sale to support the Wisconsin Builders Foundation. Don’t miss your chance to purchase one (or many!) and be entered to win the prizes below:
Grand Prize: $10,000 of Furniture from Ashley Furniture HomeStore
Runner-Up: Electrolux Laundry Set (valued at over $3,000)
Tickets are $100/each and will be for sale at the Member Meeting Day and Golf Outing, June 26 and 27, with the drawing occurring after the golf outing. Please contact your local executive officer or Joan Olson for more information, or visit www.wisbuild.org/wb-foundation-raffle
Help Wanted: 12 Solutions for Fixing Wisconsin’s Workforce Housing Shortage
Despite unemployment rates continuing to hover at or near record lows - at 3 percent as of January 2019 - Wisconsin’s future economic growth faces significant challenges. Topping the list of challenges is attracting and retaining a skilled workforce to full the thousands of jobs currently open and the jobs likely to be created with a growing economy. READ ON.
We Want Your Feedback…Please!
Looking forward, we want to ensure that we provide you with timely and useful information. Please take our survey and let us know how you like to receive information from us and how often. Are we sending you too much? Too little? We want to know, so help us help you!
Thank you to all the members who completed our online survey regarding the municipalities you do business with that have required you to submit both an online and paper permit form for the same new home building permit. Information gathered is helping WBA lobby on your behalf to continue to simplify the one- and two- family permit process via AB 117. So far, the legislation is moving well through the Assembly and we don’t foresee a holdup in the Senate once it gets there. We will continue to keep you apprised of legislative/advocacy updates via The Blueprint so keep an eye on your emails.
Fair Labor Standards Act
Questions surrounding minimum wage, overtime pay, record keeping, and child labor standards affecting full and part-time workers? Be sure to check out the Fair Labor Standards Act reference guide for any questions you have.
Whirlpool's All-Expenses-Paid Trip to Chicago Contest
We are excited to launch an incentive program for membership recruitment in 2019! Presented by Furniture & ApplianceMart/Ashley Homestore and sponsored by Whirlpool, WBA members will have two opportunities to win an all-expenses-paid weekend in Chicago!
Two six-month contest periods will be held with winners selected for a weekend in Fall 2019 and early 2020. Learn more details here.
Upcoming DSPS IT Changes
The Department of Safety and Professional Services is moving additional programs to an upgraded online system, the electronic Safety and Licensing Application (eSLA) which will impact the following program areas: Mechanical Refrigeration, Plumbing, and Plumbing Products and more. Read more about these updates here.
Additional program areas including buildings and structures, electrical, and more will be migrating at a later date. Stay tuned for updates!
Affinity Partner Updates!
WBA is now working with Third Coast Advisors, a financial services firm that aims to help members protect and grow their wealth. Their team is offering WBA members free access to the “Living Balance Sheet” which helps business owners and key employees organize and prioritize their financial pictures. The Living Balance Sheet is an online financial planning software that enables users to connect their various investment accounts, credit cards, mortgages, car loans, etc. to create a consolidated financial picture that stays up to date, and helps users navigate key hurdles such as succession planning, retirement plan design and implementation, and much more.
Click here to learn more about this great service and all the other member benefits available to you!
In the News
Milwaukee Business Journal: Home Prices and Home Construction Up Across Southeast Wisconsin
Milwaukee Business Journal: See Where House Flippers Get the Best ROI in Wisconsin
Milwaukee Independent: Governor Tony Evers Unveils $10M in Housing Tax Credits
WEAU; TV: La Crosse Builders Association Donates Tools to Local Schools
Wisconsin State Journal: Tony Evers Names Executive Director of State Housing Authority
Fox 6; TV: “You Don’t Know What Your Neighbors Are Doing": NFSA Calls Wisconsin Worst in Country
The Chetek Alert: WITC’s Construction, Cabinetmaking Teams Place at SkillsUSA
Lake Mills Leader: SkillsUSA Students Compete
Washington County Insider: Hartford Union High School Students Receive Awards at SkillsUSA State Competition