Consultants pitch services to federal property managers

Consultants are taking advantage of the sudden demand created by the newest addition to the President's Management Agenda--real property asset management.

Vista Technology Services Inc., a Herndon, Va.-based consultancy, recently distributed a white paper on property management to federal executives and is starting to work with federal clients. The Reason Foundation, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit, released a policy brief Thursday with recommendations for federal agencies. Booz Allen Hamilton, the global consulting giant, offers agencies its own special formula for property management, which it calls the Four Ws: What do you own, what condition is it in, what is its value, and what is required to improve and maintain it?

"We are ramping up our federal presence," said Geoffrey Segal, director of government reform for Reason and a contributor to Thursday's brief. He advises agencies to get their inventories in order. "You need to know what you have before you can start selling things," he said.

Agencies are happy to get the help. "They want us to be a coach to them," said Vista president David Baxa, referring to a large, Cabinet-level civilian agency he is helping. He declined to name the agency, but said he is in talks with several others to provide services.

The Government Accountability Office repeatedly has pointed to waste and inefficiency in federal property management. GAO added the issue to its high-risk list in 2003, when it also issued a report on potential multibillion-dollar costs from deteriorating and unused buildings. The President's Management Agenda, in a February executive order, added property management, in which all but the General Services Administration rates "red," the lowest score.

"For the first time, it's forcing a lot of the large infrastructure owners to think about their portfolio in a holistic way and to get it to line up to better support the mission," said John Selman, senior associate at Booz Allen. His consultancy has worked with the Interior Department, as well as individually with the National Park Service, to develop asset management plans, as the executive order requires.

In late October, the Federal Real Property Council ratified new guidelines for property management, which include requirements that each agency inventory its assets, get rid of unneeded holdings, and implement maintenance plans.

"We would be putting our resources towards those recommendations and assisting those agencies in implementing them," Segal said.

Baxa said that getting rid of unneeded property sounds a lot easier than it is. "Many federal agencies have one arm tied behind their back," he said, referring to legislation that makes it difficult for agencies to sell property.

Still, he added: "The carrying costs of hanging onto properties not being used are extremely high," meaning agencies should also look into legislative initiatives that would help them unload unneeded assets. Such initiatives might include giving agencies the power to sell property without Congressional approval or enabling them to keep the proceeds of any sale. Revenue from property sales currently go into the National Treasury.

In an interview with Government Executive last month, F. Joseph Moravec, commissioner of GSA's Public Buildings Service, also noted the unique challenges for public-sector property managers: "We can't do a lot of things that ordinary asset-management organizations can do."