The government has some 19,000 warehouses with some 90 million square feet of storage space but management is scattered among various agencies and there are issues with how such space is acquired, managed and disposed of, leading to unnecessary expenses for agencies, GAO has reported.
The GAO report was the latest in a long line of studies and congressional hearings that in particular focused on the expense of keeping unneeded space—in particular by GSA, which the report said has the largest portfolio, about a third of the total square footage. Actual management of that portfolio, though, is divided among numerous tenant agencies and GSA’s approach to its leadership “lacks strategic focus” – resulting in inefficiencies such as excessive reliance on expensive long-term leasing and difficulty in disposing of obsolete assets.
It found that among the GSA portfolio were warehouses that GSA considers active but that in fact have been “vacant for extended periods of time” raising questions about the transparency and usefulness of data GSA provides to decision makers including Congress and OMB. Other agencies with large warehouse holding include Interior and Energy.
The report noted that aging and historical facilities can be difficult to manage because they require costly maintenance and that when disposing of warehouses agencies must address contamination or environmental concerns, making that task more difficult. GSA generally agreed with recommendations that it improve its data and that it develop and carry out a strategy to prioritize and plan for warehouse space.
The report is here: http://www.gao.gov/assets/670/666856.pdf
