A new document, prepared by town staff, aims to guide the town’s decision making when it comes to its assets over the next five years.
The Collingwood Strategic Asset Management Policy is in draft form now, ready for review by the Strategic Initiatives Committee at tonight’s meeting (June 17). It’s required to be posted to the town’s website by July 1 of this year.
The policy is formed around three principles for asset management including, achieving the lowest total cost of ownership while meeting the desired levels of service, balancing stakeholder expectations and sustainable development with existing and future needs, prudent financial planning and decision making that aligns with the means and values of the town.
The town’s assets range from trails and ball diamonds to buildings like the town hall, arenas, and Centennial Aquatic Centre.
The province requires considerations to budgeting, economic development, transparency, consistency, environmental consciousness, health and safety, and innovation, and the town of Collingwood staff have also put a focus on a holistic approach to consider the big picture of an asset instead of looking at each asset in isolation.
“By using sound asset management practices, the town will work to ensure that all municipal infrastructure assets meet expected performance levels and continue to provide desired service levels,” states the draft policy. “Linking service outcomes to infrastructure investment decisions will assist the town in focusing on service, rather than budget-driven asset management approaches.”
The report is being brought to council by Treasurer Marjory Leonard, who said staff have been researching the elements for the policy since fall, 2018.
Staff did the work in-house without the use of consultants, and through workshops and webinars.
The province of Ontario began requiring municipalities to have asset management plans in 2012, and have since put forward legislation requiring more robust plans and policies for managing assets.
“The biggest challenge in the process of writing the policy was synthesizing all of the information gathered to reflect the Town’s goals for asset management,” said Leonard in an email to CollingwoodToday.
Once the policy is approved and in place, the town has to work on an asset management plan for the town’s core assets, which must be approved by July 1, 2021.
Leonard said a policy is a set of principles and rules to direct decision making, but a plan, like the one required in 2021, is a detailed inventory of the town’s core assets, including replacement values, and assessment of condition.
The policy, if approved, will provide guidance to staff who are responsible for asset management and will encourage consistency across all departments when it comes to the town’s assets. It sets out a list of responsibilities for council, the chief administrative officer, and department heads when it comes to managing the town’s assets, and sets the framework for crafting regular asset management plans.
The policy also aims to make the town’s guiding principles clear to members of the public whose lives are impacted by the state of the town’s assets.
You can read the staff report and draft policy online here. The plan will be before the Strategic Initiatives Committee tonight (meeting begins at 4:30 p.m.) and before council next week on June 24. The town’s asset management policy and subsequent plans will now be required to be updated every five years.
