The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga will announce to the UT Board of Trustees at their annual meeting Nov. 3 in Knoxville that UTC will not participate in the outsourcing of campus facilities maintenance services with Jones Lang LaSalle Americas, Inc. (JLL).
In 2015, the University of Tennessee system was invited to participate in a process to identify possible opportunities to reduce costs for the operation of all state facilities including higher education.
Upon the identification of proposed costs for services by JLL, UT President Joe DiPietro asked the leadership of each campus to review the proposals and determine what is in the best interests of the campus. Each campus will present their decision to UT System Administration and the Board of Trustees at the upcoming Board meeting Friday. UTC Chancellor Steven R. Angle will explain the university’s decision.
“JLL made a sincere presentation and their ongoing conversations with us were specific and thorough,” Angle reported. “Our decision is to not participate based on the higher cost of services. Our data indicates our campus operates effectively and efficiently. I want to personally thank JLL for their candor and efforts in this matter where it has related to our university.”
JLL’s business case presented to the University of Tennessee campuses earlier this year followed campus site tours and data studies by the Chicago-based commercial services company. The specific proposal for facilities management services at UTC was developed over many months.
The analysis in the Chattanooga proposal did not add up to a cost savings. JLL’s proposal was higher than UTC’s annual costs for custodial, grounds keep and maintenance services by $263,217 with their estimate of costs coming to $6,959,799. The university’s yearly budget for these services is $6,696,581.
In the business case presentation JLL submitted to UTC, the company said: “based on our site tours, and other data provided to JLL, and available scope limitations, we have not identified cost reduction opportunities within the (UTC) main campus.”
