Springfield representative unveils lease reform plan

He unveiled a reform plan for the system this morning at Library Station, 2535 N. Kansas Expressway, before flying to news conferences in Kansas City, St. Louis and Cape Girardeau.

Wright, who is running for state auditor, wants to audit every state-owned and state-leased property to see if the government is getting the most bang for its buck.

State government leases about 400 properties totaling 4 million square feet. Many property owners charge the government at least 5 percent more than market value because they have ties to politicians, Wright said.

The most extreme example he offered had the government leasing one St. Louis property for $30 a square foot, while market value was $15 a square foot.

“I really, sincerely believe there’s hundreds of millions of dollars of losses in these contracts,” he said. “I’m going to expose it, and I’m going to ask the legislature to fix it.”

Wright said state government has the authority to renegotiate lease contracts.