Walker abandons 28 year old Wisconsin Business for Louisiana Advertising Company, Costing Business ads Twice as Much.

Scott Walker is attracting businesses alright, but the out-of-state kind that sends revenues and jobs out of Wisconsin.  Goodbye 28 year old homegrown businesses, you’re out of work.

I’m still astonishment that Walker would dump a Wisconsin company for a monopoly out of Louisiana. No loyalty? You've got to wonder what backroom deal had been struck to make this happen. Remember United Sportsmen of Wisconsin?

jsonline: Some businesses are finding themselves in a lurch as a fight brews over who the state will put in charge of the blue highway signs that direct drivers to gas stations and restaurants.

New signs aren't going up because the Department of Transportation is trying to switch over to a new vendor … Derse-Wisconsin Highway Business Signs of Milwaukee has run the program for about 28 years, but is poised to lose it to Interstate Logos, a subsidiary of billboard giant Lamar Advertising Co. that is in charge of the blue signs in 22 other states.

That’s right, 28 years of service gone. These are the business friendly, job creating Republicans? And the price doubles for business:

In analyzing proposals from the two companies, the DOT awarded Interstate Logos 848 points and Derse 826 points … Derse filed an appeal … contending the sign work should not go to a firm headquartered in Louisiana that proposes to charge gas stations, restaurants and hotels twice as much in some cases for the signs.

The DOA made the change despite the proposed doubling of sign charges:

Derse proposed charging businesses $21 a month for signs along the interstate and $10 a month for signs along exit ramps. Interstate Logos proposed charging $46 per month for signs on the interstate, with no additional charge for signs on ramps … interstate signs would pay more than twice as much under Interstate Logos' proposal and businesses that need both interstate signs and ramp signs would pay 48% more. That could translate into as much as $8.6 million in additional costs for businesses over the 12-year life of the contract. The DOT has emphasized that no final decisions have been made on sign prices.

Illegal fast track to appoval:

Derse argued that giving the work to Interstate Logos was improper because the company was not registered to do business in Wisconsin at the time it submitted its proposal to the DOT; offered an impermissible pricing scheme; and ran a monopoly that could later jack up prices.

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett (in) a letter to Administration Secretary Mike Huebsch, (said), "It appears the decision, as it stands now, would kill Wisconsin jobs, increase costs for Wisconsin businesses, and send local dollars to an out-of-state firm," he wrote.