In response to our Tuesday report on the water-logged, mold-infested, faintly-toxic Board of Equalization headquarters building, BOE Executive Director Kristine Cazadd sent the following e-mail to The State Worker. We're publishing it, unedited, with her permission:
Jon,
Thank you for your continued interest in the Board of Equalization Headquarters building.
As Executive Director of the Board, I would like to share with you the BOE's Members' and management's commitment to secure a new facility for BOE employees. A new facility would allow all BOE headquarters employees to work more efficiently in one location. As you know, BOE is responsible for the administration and collection of more that 35% of state government revenues.
Some of the major efforts to achieve a new facility include BOE's sponsoring of AB 151, ultimately vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger, that would have required the Department of General Services to conduct a study to determine if the current BOE headquarters building located at 450 N Street in Sacramento should be sold or leased to another state tenant. Upon DGS making the specified determination, the bill would have authorized DGS to sell, lease, exchange, or any combination thereof, the 450 N Street building. The bill would also have authorized the BOE to locate its own headquarters facility and enter into lease agreements, if the Department of Finance determined that the related transactions, in total, were cost beneficial to the General Fund.
AB 1143 is another attempt to authorize the DGS, with the consent of BOE, to enter into a lease, lease-purchase agreement, or lease with an option to purchase a build-to-suit facility in the Sacramento area for purposes of consolidating the BOE Headquarters operations into one central location. While these provisions of this bill did not pass through the Legislature in 2011, the BOE plans to continue this effort in 2012.
Most recently, the Board, at its August meeting, approved moving forward to Department of Finance, a budget change proposal requesting $500,000 for BOE to reimburse DGS for any reasonable costs or expenses related to leasing a facility or relocating the BOE's Headquarters and annex facilities to a consolidated location.
As you can see, the Board of Equalization, its Members and management remain committed to fairly, efficiently and effectively administering the tax and fee programs under our jurisdiction, at a facility that allows for consolidation of staff and room for growth.
Sincerely,
Kristine Cazadd
Executive Director
State Board of Equalization
PHOTO: BOE Executive Director Kristine Cazadd / www.boe.ca.gov
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