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CCB Administrator James Denno
On the popular radio program “A Prairie Home Companion”
master storyteller Garrison Keillor used to begin each tale of his mythical Minnesota
hometown with the words “It’s been a quiet week in Lake Wobegon…”
Well, much as I would like to borrow his quaint saying to
begin my last article of the year for The Toolbox, it most definitely has not
been a quiet year at the CCB! We may not
be making headlines, but the Board and the staff have been very busy serving
Oregonians and the contracting community during 2017. I’d like to share just a few of the
highlights with you.
First, after two years of gathering your input and ideas,
discussions by the Board, and outreach and planning, we completed work on new
rules for residential contractor continuing education. You can now take the courses you believe
to be the most helpful and relevant to your business and the required three hours
of CCB courses are now available to you free of charge. CCB staff continues to approve courses and
providers, so check out our online course catalog for available courses.
Secondly, over the past four years we have worked hard on
becoming an efficient and effective operation. We have held the line on our costs and trimmed unnecessary positions
from our organizational chart. Because
of these efforts, the ending balance for our 2015-17 budget was sufficient to
allow the Board to approve a temporary reduction in the license fee. For the 2017-19 budget period, the license
fee has been reduced from $325 to $250 for a two-year contractor license.
Finally, our Enforcement Manager, Stan Jessup, has been
working hard to improve the effectiveness of our field enforcement as well as
the efficiency of our internal processing of enforcement cases. As a result, we are doing roughly twice as
much enforcement as we were able to do just a couple of years ago.
And speaking of Stan, he has just been appointed interim
administrator for the CCB. I recently
accepted a position at another agency and will be leaving the CCB on Jan. 9.
Stan will serve as administrator
while recruitment for a permanent replacement takes place. I have to say that the past 3 ½ years at the
CCB have been the most rewarding of my career. It has been a privilege to work with the very dedicated Board and staff
here, and to meet many of you hard-working contractors along the way. I wish you all a prosperous 2018, and happy
trails until we meet again!
Continuing education update: Residential contractors
Here's a reminder about the requirements for residential contractors since we've had a series of changes. Every license renewal cycle, residential contractors must complete:
- Three hours of CCB laws, regulations and business practices classes plus
- Five or 13 hours of other approved classes. Only contractors licensed less than six years need the 13 hours.
The CCB still must approve all providers and courses but you have more choices than ever.
Check the Course Catalog on the CCB website to see if a course is approved or contact the CCB in advance.
Additionally, most courses from accredited education institutions and other government agencies are approved even though they may not appear in the Course Catalog. Approved topic areas include: Marketing, customer service, accounting, business law, bidding, building codes, safety, environmental hazards (lead, asbestos, radon, etc.) energy efficiency, and trade-specific topics like how to install roofing or siding.
The CCB is developing its 2018 calendar of in-person rules, regulations and business practice courses. These are all three-hour courses, and are free. The CCB will offer the course in more than a dozen locations throughout Oregon.
As the schedule is developed, you can find it here.
You can also take the three hours online by logging into your CCB account and selecting "Continuing Education."
Homeowners who list houses for
sale within the City of Portland now must have a Home Energy Report, as required by
the City of Portland Home Energy Score program.
These reports will then be made available to
potential buyers who can then factor in energy costs at the time of purchase.
The Home Energy Report takes a similar approach to a
miles-per-gallon sticker you would see when buying a car. It provides information in a clear and easy
to understand format.
The Home Energy Report contains the Home Energy Score, a
number on a scale from 1 to 10 with “10” being the highest and “5” the average.The score takes into account how the house was built, not the behaviors of its
inhabitants. The report also provides
recommendations on how to make the home more energy efficient and shows the savings
that may be realized.
Key links
Learn more about home energy assessments and the
new City of Portland Home Energy Score program.
Energy assessments are relatively inexpensive
and take less than an hour to perform. Homeowners
who want to list their property should call an authorized home energy
assessor.
Find a list of authorized home
energy assessors.
To become a home energy assessor
Becoming an authorized home energy assessor takes between four to six weeks and costs about $625. This includes the costs of Oregon CCB licensing. Applicants must be licensed with the CCB as a residential contractor or as a restricted Home Energy Performance Score
Contractor (for those who just issue energy scores but don't work on homes).
Download this seven-step
roadmap to becoming an authorized assessor.
Making homes more efficient
With the new program in Portland, homeowners
do not have to make any improvements but can use the Home Energy
Report to improve homes to be more efficient and comfortable, cost less and become
healthier for the families who live in them.
Contractors play a pivotal role in the success of the initiative
and have a terrific opportunity to enhance their business and the community!
This article was written by Lise L. Luchsinger, Home Performance Guild of Oregon.
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