GOV
#Yes, <UNK>, this is <UNK>.
They were up.
They were a bit higher this quarter.
I think it was a few things that drove that, some of it one-time items such as cyclical painting for a couple of tenants, as well as just we had an increase in salaries and benefits expense over the prior year, where we had a number of open positions.
But we'd expect growth in other operating expenses to moderate in the fourth quarter.
For the year, we've done a pretty good job managing expenses.
Total operating expenses on a same-property basis are up only 1.7% through the first three quarters.
So we've been fairly successful in managing that, and I'd expect growth in operating expenses to moderate in the fourth quarter.
<UNK>, we don't anticipate that would have any impact for us.
We have one building leased to the FBI in Stafford, Virginia.
It's the headquarters for the Behavioral Analysis Unit.
They need to be near Quantico, and we're right across the entrance from Quantico.
So we feel pretty good about that particular location and don't think we'll be impacted.
<UNK>, I think it's an accurate statement.
I mean, the US government in particular tends to pay higher rents than private-sector tenants.
Part of that's due to their security requirements.
We also tend to have slightly higher tenant improvement costs with non-government tenants, which generally is just an upgrade to the quality of the tenant build-out.
That is why you see us very focused on trying to renew government tenants in place and backfilling vacant space with government tenants versus private-sector tenants.
I think ---+ it's a good question, <UNK>, and I'll give you my opinion.
It's always hard to know exactly where things stand, because this has become very political.
I think on the one hand, Congress will continue to focus on increasing utilization rates and trying to save as much money as they can in leasing real estate.
With that said, I think the vast majority of buildings around the country that are occupied by GSA-related agencies are meeting or have met their utilization rates.
So I think we're in certainly the latter half, maybe the seventh inning, of government right-sizing their space.
We're working on leasing plans, and we've had some showings on both of those spaces.
We are also taking a hard look at whether we think it makes sense to own those buildings long term or go ahead and move them out as dispositions.
So we may have an update for you on the next earnings call, but we're thinking through both of those strategies right now, <UNK>, to see what makes the most sense for the Company.
Thank you for joining us this morning.
<UNK> and I will be at the NAREIT conference in November and hope to see many of you there.
Operator, that concludes our call.
