wastebook2014

WASTEBOOK 201452Quartz countertops, plantation shutters, Next,spacious open kitchens, three bedrooms andthe latest in stainless steel appliances. No,that’s not a real estate ad from the nice partof town, but a description of ritzy housingunits for Border Patrol agents in Ajo, Arizona.The homes were purchased by Customsand Border Patrol (CBP) for agents reportingtemporarily to Ajo, where few border agentslive. However, a report by the Departmentof Homeland Security’s (DHS) inspectorgeneral found the agency “vastly overpaid”for homes and built them far bigger than theyshould have. 681Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) – acomponent of DHS – devised a plan in 2008to acquire housing units in several remoteareas along the southwest border, and paidthe General Services Administration $1.4million to manage the project. 682 The projectwas badly mismanaged, though, leadingto the inspector general accusing CBP ofwasting $4.6 million.To start, the agency paid “nearly $1million for 12 acres of land,” but the inspectorgeneral determined the price was “almosttriple the amount it may have actuallyneeded to pay” based on the local market. 683Border Patrol Builds Over-PricedHouses for Temporary Workers$4.6 millionCBP designed and built housingthat exceeded employee needs. A 2009CBP study to determine the housing needsfor border agents stationed in Ajo foundthey would best be served by one-bedroomapartment-style housing for use during theworkweek. 684 Rather than build apartments,however, CBP built 21 two- and threebedroomsingle family homes. 685These were no average homes, though,but instead cost nearly $700,000 apiece – ornearly six times the going rate for home inAjo, Arizona. 686 In the same year the homeswere built, the average cost of housing in Ajowas $86,500. 687“You could buy any house in town for$100,000,” said Tina West, a member of theWestern Pima County Community Council,“It’s just another multimillion-dollar waste.” 688In part, prices were driven up becausethey equipped each house with expensiveupgrades, such as quartz countertops,stainless steel appliances, free-standingadditional freezers, wireless ceiling fans,plantation shutters, and walk-in pantries. 689The new homes range from 1,276 to 1,570square feet.According to the DHS Office ofInspector General, since the completion ofthe Ajo project, the houses have not beenfully occupied, citing the rental rates as thelikely cause. The price to rent the two- andthree-bedroom houses ranged from $1,075to $1,314 for a single tenant.The agency installed expensive wirelessfans to avoid having to replace the pull stringson standard ceiling fans. 690 When asked whythey spent so much money on these things,CBP said “if they spent more up front, theywould save money in the end.” 691CBP added attached garages largeenough to accommodate three cars,measuring 748 square feet, citing mostagents and officers assigned Ajo stationshave two cars. 692CBP also paid more than $2.4 million tobuy 20 park-model trailer homes and leaseland on which to park them to satisfy thesame purpose as the single family homes.Between October 2013 and March 2014, 18of the 20 mobile homes were vacant.CBP has built half of a complex in Ajo,Arizona and intends to build the same type ofhousing in five other locations once fundingbecomes available.46