Property and Procurement Bill Advances With Reforms to Attract Investments and Streamline Processes

In a bid to improve operational efficiency, the V.I. Department of Property and Procurement has proposed a series of amendments to portions of Title 31 of the Virgin Islands Code which pertain to the management of public property and procurement and sale of goods and services. In lengthy testimony before the Committee of the Whole on Wednesday, DPP Commissioner Lisa Alejandro told legislators that the changes all focus on “areas that drive economic development.” Detailed in Bill 35-0415, the amendments were met with mixed reviews. Some, like a desire to reduce the percentage of rental fees to be collected on subleased government properties, were supported. Per Ms. Alejandro, “pursuant to act number 6634 the government must collect 35% of all rent collected from the subleasing of government property.” Seen as a “cost-prohibitive” rule, DPP sought to amend the code to include an option to “negotiate lower subleasing fees with lessees who will invest at least $500,000 in the leased prem...