PASQUALE A. PEPE, Chairman
LISA A. MUSUMECI, Vice Chairman
Stanley T. Babiarz, Executive Director
Established - 1975
Central office - 165 Capitol Avenue, Room #123,
Hartford, CT 06106
Average number of full-time employees - Four
Recurring operating expenses - $439,088
Fiscal Yrs. 1975-2003 - 8.5x Operating Expenditures
Organizational structure – The State
Properties Review Board consists of six members, appointed on a bi-partisan
basis; three are appointed jointly by the Speaker of the House and the
President Pro Tempore of the Senate; and three are appointed jointly by the
Minority Leader of the House and the Minority Leader of the Senate. As of June 30, 2003 the members are: Pasquale A. Pepe, Chairman; Lisa A.
Musumeci, Vice Chairman; Edwin S. Greenberg, Secretary; Paul F. Cramer; Bruce
Josephy; and Bennett Millstein.
The mission of the State Properties Review Board is to provide oversight of State real estate activities, acquisition of farm development rights, and the hiring of architects, engineers and other construction-related professionals, as proposed by State Executive Branch agencies. In accomplishing this legislative mandate, the Board provides guidance and assistance to State client-agencies to ensure that transactions are done in a prudent, business-like manner, that costs are reasonable, and that proposals are in compliance with State laws, regulations and procedures.
The Board reviews plans for transactions involving the acquisition, construction, development, assignment to and leasing of offices and other facilities for various agencies of the State. The Board reviews proposals involving the lease or sale of State-owned real estate to third parties. The Board approves both the selection of and contracts with architects, engineers and other consultants for major construction projects proposed by the Commissioner of Public Works.
In
addition, the Board reviews, evaluates and approves the acquisition of
development rights for farmland proposed by the Commissioner of Agriculture.
The Board meets at least twice per week
or as often as necessary to provide its services. The Board follows the Affirmative Action Plan prepared and
administered by the Department of Administrative Services.
In reviewing and approving the various transactions proposed by the client-agencies, the Board has the opportunity to modify and improve the proposals to ensure that they reflect market prices favorable to the State, are financially prudent, and conform to State laws. The Board achieves quantifiable savings to State taxpayers of $1.0 to $14.0 million per year.
A total of 517 proposals were reviewed by the Board, compared to 635 during the preceding fiscal year. The Department of Public Works submitted 38 percent of the proposals, while 58 percent came from the Department of Transportation, and 4 percent were from all other agencies. The average time to review these proposals was 8.33 calendar days (including weekends and holidays), compared with 7.62 days in 2002-2001 and 10.69 days in 2000-2001. Quantifiable annual taxpayer savings in transaction costs achieved of $14,675,147 were over thirty-three times the Board’s operating budget costs of $439,088.