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YELLOW SHEET Office of the State Auditor of Missouri |
Report No. 2004-36
May 7, 2004
Transportation officials lack accurate and reliable records of excess property and property being held for future road and bridge projects
Department of Transportation (MoDOT) officials have spent about $630 million over the past 10 years buying land for road and bridge projects (known as right-of-way property). In all, they estimate that MoDOT owns almost 400,000 acres of land for right-of-way purposes. Absent of reliable data, they estimate the lands' value at $1.9 billion for fiscal year 2003. This report documents the records and procedures over land owned by MoDOT including both excess and future right-of-way property. Excess property is surplus land no longer needed for roads, and future property is land held for road projects MoDOT intends to build. The following highlights the findings:
No overall right-of-way property inventory exists
MoDOT has no comprehensive records of all right-of-way property owned by the state. They prepared their most recent $1.9 billion estimate annually for financial reporting purposes using estimated acreage owned (which includes documented property acquisitions since 2001) and the average acreage acquisition price. However, department officials said this estimate does not account for all the land and no current department system can individually or collectively document all owned property. In April 2004, department officials plan to develop a comprehensive property record system. (See page 3)
Current excess property database is unreliable, incomplete
Auditors found the database tracking excess right-of-way property, which is land no longer needed for roads and available for sale, is unreliable. This database showed the department owned 1,400 acres valued at $10 million as of January 2004. However, department officials said this is not a complete list of all excess property, partly because personnel knowledgeable of past land purchases have left the department. In many cases, land is not identified as excess until someone is interested in buying it. The database also over- and understated land values. For example, auditors found the value of 8 parcels overstated by $1.4 million. Some parcels in the database had no value listed at all. (See page 3)
Records of property for future road projects also deficient
Although department officials have started to develop records of future right-of-way property in September 2003, only limited progress had been made as of March 2004. Prior to September 2003, department officials had made no effort to account for all future right-of-way property, but simply kept records in various project files. The preliminary information they started gathering in September 2003 from the 10 transportation districts shows approximately 7,000 acres of future right-of-way property involving 130 projects. However, this information was inconsistent and did not include basic facts such as property value, initial cost, or acquisition date. In some cases, record-gathering efforts only involved asking various district personnel if they knew of any existing future right-of-way property. Auditors' limited review of this January 2004 preliminary list found 38 acres of future right-of-way property missing from this list. (See page 4)
Some future right-of-way property held for decades
Auditors found the department has owned 6 of 10 future right-of-way properties tested for 20 to 40 years. MoDOT officials said their annual review of the state�s transportation plan (STIP) evaluates the continued need for right-of-way property. However, auditors found this evaluation may not be adequate. (See page 6)
More efforts needed to sell excess property
Over the last four fiscal years, MoDOT sold $1.1 million annually in excess right-of-way property. However, further efforts to sell excess properties are needed. MoDOT officials indicated that sales of excess right-of-way properties are typically initiated by private individuals. The identification and marketing of excess properties will provide revenue and dispose of no longer needed properties. As of January 2004, MoDOT had already identified at least $10 million in excess property and said this total is incomplete. (See page 6)
