Chapter V

Inventory of the State's Real Property

State law makes several statutory references to the compilation and review of a real estate inventory of state-owned and leased properties. C.G.S. § 4b-1 lists among the Department of Public Works' statutory responsibilities the mandate to maintain a complete and current inventory of all state-owned or leased property and premises, including space utilization data. C.G.S.§ 4b-24(1)(a) further specifies the department compile and maintain comprehensive and complete inventories of all improved and unimproved real estate available to the state by ownership or lease. By law, the actual compilation of the inventories under the latter statute may be done by the Office of Policy and Management (OPM) as long as the information is made available to DPW.

In addition, the statutes assign OPM the responsibility of reviewing the inventories for long range planning (C.G.S.§4-67g). There is also a statutory reference made in C.G.S.§ 4-36 requiring state agencies to establish and keep an inventory account for the State Comptroller's Office of all real and personal property owned by the state and in the custody of each state agency.

As a result of these laws, three real property inventory systems had been established and maintained - one at the Department of Public Works, one at the Office of Policy and Management, and one at the Office of the Comptroller. Each had overlapping elements that required agencies to submit information at different times and in different formats.

Previous Studies

In December 2000, the Legislative Program Review and Investigations committee completed a study of the Department of Public Works' facility management function. During the course of that study the committee noted the department lacked a structured, automated management information system for facilities under its care and custody. As a result, inventory information was deemed to be not wholly reliable or accurate, management reports and analysis limited, and planning hindered. These findings were also noted in a 1999 report by the Office of the State Auditors.⁴

The auditor's report found the multiple systems set up by DPW, OPM, and the comptroller's led to duplication of effort, increased costs, and increased the chance of inaccurate record keeping. Both reports concluded the state did not have a complete, comprehensive, up-to-date real property inventory as required by statute. Since those reports were released, several developments have been made to address the issue. The evolution and current status of the inventory is explained in further detailed in the following section.

Real Property Management System

In response to the auditor's report, the three central agencies responsible for real property management and financial reporting - DPW, OPM, and the comptroller's office - agreed to work together to develop an accurate, comprehensive state real property database which could be used by all state agencies.

Initially, the three agencies in conjunction with the Department of Information Technology prepared a proposal to acquire resources for the development and implementation of a comprehensive Real Property Management System (RPMS) to meet the state's varied property inventory needs. Funding necessary for constructing the new system was estimated to be $12 million over two fiscal years but not approved as a budget option.

Alternatively, the three agencies, with OPM leading the project, have developed a new initiative. This initiative combines and centralizes the existing databases into a new software program creating a single inventory system known as JESTIR - the Joint Effort for State Inventory Reporting.

JESTIR creates a single unique reference number for every structure in the state thereby eliminating the previous situation where structures had three different building numbers. To create JESTIR, the three agencies each looked at their existing inventory systems and decided which data elements should be carried over into a new joint system and which components could be discarded. The group then identified data elements which were not being collected but were considered worth compiling.

Written in Microsoft Access, JESTIR provides agencies a series of on-screen forms to input and maintain basic structure data. JESTIR has been distributed and training provided to all agencies which have custody and control of state owned structures. Agencies are required to transmit its updated information on a quarterly basis to OPM which will in turn transmit it to DPW and the comptroller's office. The first quarterly report was prepared in April 2001.

OPM has taken primary responsibility for maintaining the JESTIR system. It will send reminder letters to agencies regarding data submission and transmit updated information to DPW and the comptroller's office. The comptroller's office in turn will assist OPM in policing the agencies to ensure they report data in a timely and accurate fashion. DPW will provide administrative support as needed.

JESTIR is still in its developmental stages and at this time does not include information regarding parcels of land that do not contain structures. It also does not include information relating to lease space. Once it is completely operational, JESTIR will be integrated with the ongoing Joint Core Replacement project which will tie it to the state's financial management and accounting system.

State-Owned Land

At the end of FY 00, the State of Connecticut owned 242,790 acres of land comprising 7.57 percent of the overall 5,009 square miles (3,205,760 acres) contained within the state's boundaries.⁵ A breakdown of real estate holdings by state agency is presented in Table V-1.

As the table shows, the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) maintains the majority of the land owned by the state. Representing 90 percent of the total real estate, DEP land holdings including state parks, forests, recreation facilities, and other open space total 219,500 acres. Higher education facilities represent the second largest holdings with 6,321 acres.

The amount of land owned by the state has gradually increased over time as illustrated in Figure V-1. Since FY93, land holdings have increased by 5.5 percent or 12,795 acres. The increase has been primarily due to DEP land acquisitions.

State Owned Buildings

At the end of FY00, the state owned an aggregrate floor area of 50,964,596 square feet in approximately 3,600 buildings. The pie chart in Figure V-2 illustrates the distribution of floor space by state agency. As the pie chart shows, higher education facilities including the University of Connecticut (UCONN), the state university system (CSU), and community technical colleges (CTC) made up the largest single category of building space with a total of 17,970,847 gross square feet or 35 percent.

Figure V-3 charts the total amount of building floor space owned by the state during FYs 93-00. As the graph shows, the amount of floor space has also increased during this time period. In FY93, the state owned close to 45 million square feet of floor space. By the end of FY00, the total amount had increased almost 14 percent to 50,964,596 square feet. Higher education buildings, correctional facilities, and property acquired by DPW account for most of the growth during this time.

Leased Space

Figure V-4, V-5, and V-6 illustrate the trends in the total amount and annual cost of leased space over the past several years. As Figure V-4 shows, the amount of leased floor space has lowered by 874,991 square feet or 25 percent since FY90. At the same time, seen in Figures V-5 and V-6, annual leasing costs have decreased by 12 percent with the average rate per square foot rising from $10.50 to $12.30.

As of June 29, 2001 DPW had 204 active leases consisting of a total of 2,607,345 square feet of space with an annual lease cost of $34,954,477. The leases are catergorized for various uses including offices, courtrooms, classrooms, parking, and other non-building uses.

⁴ Performance Audit Report, State's Real Property Management Systems, November 10, 1999, Auditors of Public Account.

⁵ This does not include land within state highways and rail rights-of-way which are under the custody of the Department of Transportation.

Return to Table of Contents