BRUNSWICK — The investigative arm of Congress reported last week that hundreds of military installations scheduled to close in the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure intiative are costing more money and behind schedule.
However, Brunswick Naval Air Station redevelopment officials say their work is ahead of schedule.
Steve Levesque, executive director of the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority, said BNAS should be fully closed by May 2011, four months ahead of the Sept. 15, 2011, statutory deadline.
Questions about the Brunswick base’s ability to meet the deadline followed a recent report by the Government Accountability Office that found 230 of the 800 military installations involved in the BRAC process were in danger of missing the 2011 deadline. In addition, the GAO report repeated previous findings that said the latest BRAC implementation costs had increased by $1.2 billion, resulting in overall costs of $32.4 billion.
In 2007, the GAO reported that BRAC costs were $10 billion more than original estimates. It called upon the Office of the Secretary of Defense to adjust its estimated BRAC savings. The GAO’s latest report makes the same request.
Despite a concurring opinion from the Department of Defense, the secretary’s office has refused to revise the savings estimates.