BGS tells Appropriations it manages 3 million sq ft and seeks to close major maintenance gaps

Wanda Manoli, Commissioner of Buildings and General Services, told the House Appropriations Committee on Feb. 12 that her department maintains and operates roughly 3,000,000 square feet of state-owned space across Vermont and is submitting a FY27 budget to preserve staffing and services.

We maintain and operate 3,000,000 square feet of state owned building space throughout the state of Vermont, Manoli said, listing correctional facilities, state office buildings and information centers among spaces BGS manages. She said BGS currently had 348 FTEs and 22 vacancies in the December snapshot used for the budget.

Committee members pressed BGS on how the fee-for-space program is calculated. Emily Kacicky, deputy commissioner of buildings and general services, said the fee-for-space rate covers occupancy costs  trash removal, electricity, heat, cleaning, minor repairs and staffing  and is set using a two-year average of operational costs rather than treating the charge as rent. The department said the internal service fund accounts for about 77% of BGS funding and that the fee-for-space comprises about 85% of that fund.

Manoli told the committee BGS recorded a small deficit in the past fiscal year driven largely by higher electricity costs and rate changes. We don't make money, she said, adding the department treats fee-for-space as a cost-recovery mechanism, not a revenue source.

BGS described a recent internal realignment intended to close the gap between operating receipts and major maintenance obligations. Staff said they had realigned priorities following delays in spending attributed in part to flood recovery in Montpelier and that, as of a recent check, the department had under $2 million remaining in its major maintenance budget to carry to the end of the fiscal year.

The presentation identified personnel costs, insurance steps and COLA as the primary drivers of operating increases in the recommended budget. Committee members asked for and received confirmation that more substantial repairs would be routed to the capital bill and major maintenance, while routine operating costs remain in fee-for-space.

The department also flagged a budget-document typo (a pink mail line that read 90,000 to 550,000) and said it would correct the figure; staff said the larger postal and print operations increases were personnel-driven.