West Virginia state government went on a buying spree in recent years, and the bill has come due at a time when the state can least afford it.
A legislative audit reveals that the state has an "overextended stock of real property that it cannot properly maintain or operate." The result: Taxpayers are paying for buildings that are sitting empty because they are unneeded or unusable.
Some would require new roofs or other costly upgrades to make them suitable for occupancy.
Even worse: Many of the buildings already had problems when the state purchased them, but officials failed to get the engineering inspections that would have identified the deficiencies.
Why was the state buying these buildings in the first place? It never made moves to make some of them usable, so the purchases don't appear to have been prompted by any real need for office space or other facilities.
How did the state become saddled with this many unused, expensive properties?
Acting Administration Secretary Jason Pizatella told lawmakers that many of the questionable purchases happened when Lottery money was rapidly filling state coffers. Over one two-year period, the capital improvements fund got more than $80 million.
"That's money we wish we had back today," he said.
No kidding.
Whether this was a "use-it-or-lose-it" budget situation or simply a case of money burning a hole in the state's pocket in flush times, obviously some poor decisions were made.
Officials' task now is two-fold: First, they need to make savvy decisions about what to do with these properties. Some likely need to be sold, but in other cases it will make financial sense for the state to bite the bullet, make needed repairs, and put the buildings to good use.
Second, the state needs to examine the process by which surplus funds were spent so imprudently. When part of the government receives money it doesn't know what to do with, as in the case of the Lottery windfall, officials should be given every incentive to save it or put it to a responsible use.
West Virginia already has enough empty, dilapidated buildings and neglectful landlords. The state shouldn't be contributing to that problem at taxpayer expense.