Budget and Control Board Billing Should be Transparent, Competitive

As the Budget & Control Board prepares to meet next week to discuss how to respond to the state’s current revenue shortfall of $92 million, they might consider making some cuts closer to home – namely at the BCB itself. In fact, a thorough audit of the Board’s activities and expenditures would uncover several ways to cuts costs for many agencies, including Education, Health & Environmental Control, and the University of South Carolina. Take, for instance, the Budget & Control Board’s billing practices for state-owned property management.

A Policy Council analysis of the BCB’s billing practices finds the Board currently charges state agencies rent for space occupied in state-owned buildings. The BCB justifies charging rent to support building maintenance, upkeep and utility costs; however, the BCB was unable to provide the method it uses to formulate these fees. The BCB was also unable to meet a request to produce a comprehensive list of property owned by taxpayers. This suggests the Budget & Control Board is either unaware of how much property it oversees or refuses to publicly release the information.

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