Boomtown Contractors Busted by License Board

Howard Williams, administrator of the state Contractors Licensing Board, said he has a total of 11 contractor violations from Northwest Arkansas set for Jan. 9 hearings. The violations are from contractors who were caught working on jobs of $20,000 or more and were not licensed by the state. Nine were violations against commercial jobs and two were residential. The contractors involved are from Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma, Mississippi and North Carolina.

This number is up slightly from previous hearings with seven violations for Dec. 5 and 10 violations for the Nov. 21 hearings. The state’s four most northwestern counties are on pace to combine for 110 violations on the year.

Williams said the robust economy, and the subsequent building boom in Northwest Arkansas, is one of the reasons why his office sees so many non-licensed contractors trying to get in on the action.

Michael Hoofman, a CLB investigator, said the violations he sees in the northwest area break down to about 38 percent from Washington County, 41 percent Benton County, 15 percent Sebastian County and 6 percent Crawford County.

Mike Charlton of Charlton Development Co. in Bentonville said he uses Arkansas-based subcontractors and requires them to have a license. However, if they don’t have one at the time he’s ready to hire them, he helps them walk through the steps to get one.

“We kind of hold their hand,” he said. “We help them get their ducks in a row [so they can get their license].”

Contractor Violations

Contractors working on jobs over $20,000 without a license.

Year — Violations

2000 — 109

2001 — 102

2002 — 93

2003* — 55

*Since July 1.

Source: State of Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board