Asset Management Plan & Policy
What is asset management?
Asset management planning “is the process of making the best possible decisions regarding the building, operating, maintaining, renewing, replacing and disposing of infrastructure assets. The objective is to maximize benefits, manage risk, and provide satisfactory levels of service to the public in a sustainable manner”. (see link at right: Building Together)
Improved municipal asset management planning is a vital step in Ontario’s Municipal Infrastructure Strategy. Municipalities have been required to demonstrate a progressively greater commitment to asset management in order to request infrastructure funding and guide them in making appropriate infrastructure investment decisions now and into the future.
The Town’s Asset Management Plan and Policy was adopted by Council on November 15, 2016.
Executive Summary
Introduction and Background
These sections provide an introduction to the development of the Town’s asset management capacity and requirements for the adoption of an asset management plan and policy.
The Province currently requires Asset Management Plans (AMP) for all applicable Gas Tax eligible categories. This Plan reports on those areas for which the Town has assets in and responsibility for: local roads and bridges, public transit, drinking water, wastewater, stormwater, stormwater management facilities, recreational infrastructure and cultural infrastructure. The Town has recognized that Asset Management Plans for all asset groups, for which it has responsibility for, will continue to be further defined and developed, and that complete AMPs for these asset groups is the ultimate goal. The individual asset group plans should be written in a consistent manner, to the greatest extent possible.
Appendix A of the Asset Management Plan includes the Corporate Asset Management Policy. The policy broadly outlines the guiding principles and requirements to assist with decision making and the development of Asset Management Plans for other asset groups.
click to view Section 1: Introduction and Section 2: Corporate Asset Management Policy
State of the Infrastructure Summaries
State of the Infrastructure (SotI) is composed of the following sections - click a highlighted title to view the section:
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Section 3: Condition Rating Methodologies – describing how eligible asset groups in the Plan have been evaluated.
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Section 4: State of the Infrastructure Summaries – eligible assets grouped by types (e.g. urban arterial road, rural collector road, watermains) and quantity/extent (e.g. length in kilometres for linear assets).
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Section 5: Asset Group Condition (e.g. proportion of assets in “good," “fair" and “poor" condition) must be assessed to determine if the asset can provide the level of service required. Where condition assessments difficult or costly to implement, subjective assessments based on asset age are considered.
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Section 6: Replacement Cost Valuations – for the Town's current asset portfolio included in this Plan. Financial valuation uses historical costs and depreciation assumptions. Replacement cost valuation is forward-looking and accounts for expected inflation, changes in technology and other factors.
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Section 7: Asset Condition Assessment and Plan Updates - how and when information regarding the characteristics, value, and condition of assets will be updated.
Asset specific work plans developed as part of the Town's 2012 Asset Management Plan are in the process of being updated with current condition assessments and revised using asset management software.
Level of Service
Levels of service are the objectives that help to guide asset planning. Existing service levels need to be documented so that any proposed increase or decrease can find the right balance between the need for the service and affordability.
click to view
Section 8: Level of Service
Program Funding Recommendations
Funding recommendations for any asset group should include sufficient capital expenditures that would allow the replacement of infrastructure as the end of its design life approaches, in addition to sufficient funding for maintenance during the time the asset is in use, to ensure that the full life expectancy may be realized.
click to view Section 9: Program Funding Recommendations
Asset Management Strategy
The asset management strategy is the set of planned actions that will enable the assets to provide the desired levels of service in a sustainable way, while managing risk, at the lowest lifecycle cost.
click to view Section 10: Asset Management Strategy
Financial Strategy & Plan and Asset Work Plans
The financial plan is a critical component of an asset management plan. A strong financial plan can assist municipalities in demonstrating that they have made a concerted effort to integrate asset management planning with financial planning and budgeting and to make full use of all available infrastructure financing tools.
Work plans for most asset groups will need to be developed and / or updated. The use of WorkTech software to model the performance of the linear assets and structures will contribute directly to future work plans. The road, road crossing culvert and structure asset groups have improvement schedules in the Road Needs Study, 2012 and Municipal Bridge Inspection, 2010, respectively. These will require updating to meet legislative requirements, account for recent construction and current unit costs.
click to view Section 11: Financial Strategy & Plan and Section 12: Asset Work Plan
Recommendations
Recommended funding for any asset group should include sufficient capital expenditures that would allow the replacement of infrastructure as the end of design life is approached, in addition to sufficient funding for maintenance, to ensure that the full life expectancy may be realized.
click to view Section 13: Recommendations
