Navy Housing
Transient Lodging Operations Need Effective Management Control Gao ID: NSIAD-92-27 October 3, 1991On any given day in the continental United States, about 5,800 transient Navy personnel are lodged off base while traveling on temporary duty. In 1990 the Navy paid an estimated $139 million for off-base per diem. The cost of building and operating the on-base facilities is paid from regular appropriations. To match commercial motel standards, however, installations are allowed to charge a fee for maid and custodial services and amenities not available from appropriated funds. This fee, generally about $4, is a small fraction of the commercial off-base rates that range between $40 to $113 per day. The Navy's transient lodging facilities are not run as efficiently as possible because management controls need improvement. Increased costs of off-base lodging are being incurred because billeting offices (1) rely on a weak reservation system, (2) discourage reservists from using on-base facilities, and (3) have poor control over lodging facilities set aside for senior officials. These problems can be remedied by implementing cost-effective management actions and appropriate internal controls. Navy officials agree and are planning changes to increase efficiency and more effectively control revenues.
GAO found that: (1) although the Navy is required to lodge transient personnel on base whenever possible, it is not doing so; (2) travel costs are higher than necessary due to weaknesses in the Navy's reservation system that allow for the authorization of off-base per diem when on-base lodging is available; (3) the Navy is incurring increased costs in off-base lodging because billeting offices discourage reservists from using on-base facilities and have poor control over lodging facilities set aside for senior officials; (4) revenue balances suggest that the Navy is not properly adjusting fees or financing needed improvements in a timely fashion; and (5) the Navy lacks verifiable statistical information needed to determine the seriousness of the inefficiencies in its transient lodging operations and how best to remedy them.
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