Contracting Out Vehicle Maintenance and Operations Functions at U.S. Naval Station, Mayport, Florida

A request was made for GAO to review the cost comparison that was used by the Navy to justify its decision to convert in-house vehicle maintenance and operations functions to contractor performance at the U.S. Naval Station in Mayport, Florida.

A Navy report showed that some revisions to the original cost comparison were appropriate. However, it stated that contractor performance was still more economical over the 3-year period. GAO believed that the report did not adequately resolve some of the questions raised nor demonstrate the validity of the comparison. GAO believes that further revisions to the comparison are appropriate which would result in a cost advantage for in-house performance. The Navy's decision to contract out vehicle maintenance and operations functions at the Naval Station is not supported by the cost comparison that was made. However, the guidelines used to develop the comparison are no longer in effect. If a new comparison using the current guidelines were prepared, GAO believes that it would probably support the Navy's decision.