Asset Management Plan 2016-2025

Athens, Ontario

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Infrastructure Solutions Inc. Private and Confidential 0 | P a g e Asset Management Plan 2016 - 2025 Project No. 16-320 +++++++ Infrastructure Solutions Inc. Private and Confidential 1 | P a g e Limitations and Disclosure This document has been prepared by Infrastructure Solutions Inc. ("ISI") for the exclusive use of the Township of Athens (the "Client"). The information, opinions, recommendations, conclusions and/or analysis contained within this document are based upon observations and information made available to ISI as at the time of the preparation of the document. Any information provided to ISI by the Client on any third party is assumed to be correct. The information, opinions, recommendations, conclusions and/or analysis contained within this document are given based upon observations made by ISI and using generally accepted professional judgment and principles. Any use which a third party makes of this document, or any reliance or decisions or actions taken by any such third party based upon this document are the sole responsibility of any such third party and ISI accepts no responsibility, liability or risk for any damages, loss, or claims, if any, suffered by any such third party or any related party of such third party as a result of any reliance, or decisions made or actions taken, based upon this document. Infrastructure Solutions Inc. Private and Confidential 2 | P a g e TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...................................................................................................................... 3 2 HISTORICAL OVERVIEW .................................................................................................................... 4 3 OUR METHODOLOGY ......................................................................................................................... 5 3.1 ISI ROAD MAINTENANCE SURVEY ............................................................................................................ 6 4 SOTI REPORT ...................................................................................................................................... 8 5 INVENTORY AND THE VALUATION OF ASSETS (SOTI) ................................................................. 9 5.1 ROADS ................................................................................................................................................. 10 5.2 BRIDGE AND LARGE CULVERT ............................................................................................................... 17 5.3 SIDEWALKS .......................................................................................................................................... 18 5.4 SOTI CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................... 18 6 NON-LINEAR ASSET TYPES ............................................................................................................ 19 6.1 BUILDINGS ........................................................................................................................................... 19 6.2 VEHICLES ............................................................................................................................................. 20 6.3 RECREATION ........................................................................................................................................ 20 6.4 EQUIPMENT .......................................................................................................................................... 21 7 CAPITAL PLAN .................................................................................................................................. 21 7.1 BACKGROUND ...................................................................................................................................... 21 7.2 OVERVIEW ............................................................................................................................................ 22 7.3 METHODOLOGY .................................................................................................................................... 23 8 ASSET MANAGEMENT PLAN RESULTS ........................................................................................ 25 9 LEVELS OF SERVICE ....................................................................................................................... 27 9.1 OVERVIEW ............................................................................................................................................ 27 9.2 METHODOLOGY .................................................................................................................................... 27 9.3 LEVELS OF SERVICE PROCESS .............................................................................................................. 28 9.4 OPERATING PERFORMANCE INDICATOR EXAMPLE ................................................................................... 29 10 FINANCIAL PROJECTIONS .............................................................................................................. 30 10.1 CONSUMER PRICE INDEX: OUR PERSPECTIVE ......................................................................................... 31 10.2 MUNICIPAL COST INDEX ........................................................................................................................ 32 10.3 FINANCIAL STRATEGY ASSUMPTIONS ..................................................................................................... 32 10.4 FUNDING REQUIREMENTS ...................................................................................................................... 33 10.5 FINANCIAL STRATEGIES - THE INFRASTRUCTURE GAP ............................................................................ 34 11 RECOMMENDATIONS ....................................................................................................................... 38 11.1 SOTI RECOMMENDATIONS .................................................................................................................... 38 11.2 CAPITAL PLAN RECOMMENDATIONS ....................................................................................................... 39 11.3 LEVEL OF SERVICE RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................................................................ 40 11.4 FINANCIAL STRATEGY RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................................................................ 40 12 CONCLUSION .................................................................................................................................... 41 APPENDIX A - DETAILED LIST OF CAPITAL PROJECTS .......................................................................................... 42 APPENDIX B - ASSET USEFUL LIFE .................................................................................................................... 43 APPENDIX C - MUNICIPAL COST INDEX ............................................................................................................... 44 Infrastructure Solutions Inc. Private and Confidential 3 | P a g e 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Township of Athens is undertaking a detailed evaluation of all its existing infrastructure in order to update a long-term Asset Management Plan, put the Township in a position to receive the Federal Gas Tax Fund and other grants, and build a fully implementable program for its residents which aims to further strengthen municipal asset management practices. Asset management planning requires that the most cost effective and realistic decisions are made regarding the building, operating, maintaining, renewing, replacing and disposing of infrastructure assets. The prime goal of the Asset Management Plan is to maximize benefits, manage risk, and offer satisfactory, safe and sustainable service levels to the public. Asset management planning requires that the Township has an in-depth understanding of the characteristics and condition of infrastructure assets, as well as the service levels they are expected to meet. Asset management planning also involves strategic prioritization and optimization to obtain the best decision-making concerning the timing and utilization of investments, which includes a comprehensive and achievable financial strategy. Infrastructure Solutions Inc. was well supported by Athens' staff to accumulate the Township's geometric and condition assessment data, where available. We based the Asset Management Plan on all asset types and their current replacement costs. Asset lifespans, condition and project requirements were determined by engineering assessments and degradation curves. Where condition assessments were unavailable, ISI applied an age-based analysis. Our objective was to build a practical asset management plan based on optimizing the capital spend and taking corrective action to address the Township's infrastructure deficit. The Township's infrastructure deficit is defined as the added investment that would be required to maintain a Township's infrastructure at appropriate service levels and in a good state of repair today. Based on our calculations, Athens' current (as of 2016) infrastructure deficit is in the range of $2.02 million. To completely remove the infrastructure deficit over the next 10 years, the Township would need to make an average annual capital investment of $460,158 which is significant given the Township's current financial capability. The greatest portion of the infrastructure deficit (70%) is with the road network. We have analyzed the road network in detail with the objective of optimizing how capital is expended. Independent of the deficit, we have reviewed the Township's current/projected capital contributions in relation to its current/projected needs. The Township is currently contributing $205,628 per annum to its capital program but has a requirement to contribute $258,051 per annum. Without corrective action, the infrastructure deficit will continue to grow. As highlighted in the SOTI Report within this document, the Township's major linear asset, roads, are generally in good condition. The bridge and large culvert are in good condition, while the sidewalks are in poor condition. Infrastructure Solutions Inc. Private and Confidential 4 | P a g e 2 HISTORICAL OVERVIEW Municipal infrastructure is the foundation that the daily life of Canadians is built upon. The strength of this foundation enables our communities and local businesses to grow and it ensures that Canadians have a high quality of life. Municipalities own the core infrastructure assets that are critical to the quality of life of Canadians and the competitiveness of our country. Almost 60% of Canada's core public infrastructure is owned and maintained by municipal governments. According to survey results, the total value of core municipal infrastructure assets is estimated at $1.1 trillion dollars or about $80,000 per household. The delivery of essential public services is reliant on a strong foundation of municipal infrastructure. This foundation enables our communities and local businesses to grow and ensures Canadians can lead safe and healthy lives. The Township of Athens is not alone in dealing with an infrastructure deficit. According to the Canadian Infrastructure Report Card (CIRC), one-third of our Canadian municipal infrastructure is in fair, poor or very poor condition, increasing the risk of service disruption. Assets in fair, poor and very poor conditions represent a call for action. Survey results demonstrate that roads, municipal buildings, sport and recreation facilities and public transit are the asset classes most in need of attention. Figure 1 provides a summary of the physical condition ratings for all municipal asset categories across the country. Figure 1: Physical Condition Ratings by Asset Category Increasing reinvestment rates will stop the deterioration of municipal infrastructure. The 2016 CIRC report found that rates of reinvestment are lower than targets recommended by asset management practitioners. The rate can vary based on factors such as the age of the infrastructure, the level of service and risk tolerance. The values provided are based on the experience of municipal asset management practitioners and are intended to be informative in nature. Roads and sidewalks, storm water, and sport and recreation infrastructure presented the largest gaps in terms of current and target rates of reinvestment. Figure 2 demonstrate the gap between current and target reinvestment levels. Continuing down this path will result in a gradual decline of physical condition levels that will impact municipal services. When contrasted with target reinvestment rates it becomes clear that current levels of reinvestment in municipal infrastructure are inadequate. 3% 3% 2% 5% 1% 5% 5% 2% 9% 8% 5% 9% 3% 12% 14% 15% 17% 24% 16% 23% 22% 28% 27% 26% 35% 26% 33% 37% 57% 33% 36% 34% 36% 39% 44% 26% 17% 22% 18% 23% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Potable Water Wastewater Stormwater Roads Bridges Buildings Sport & Rec. Public Transit Very Poor Poor Fair Good Very Good Infrastructure Solutions Inc. Private and Confidential 5 | P a g e Target Reinvestment Rates vs Current Reinvestment Rate Infrastructure Lower Target Reinvestment Rate Upper Target Reinvestment Rate Current Reinvestment Rate Roads and Sidewalks 2.0% 3.0% 1.1% Bridges and Culverts 1.0% 1.5% 0.8% Buildings 17.0% 2.5% 1.7% Sport and Recreation 1.7% 2.5% 1.3% Figure 2: Target Reinvestment Rates vs. Current Reinvestment Rate 3 OUR METHODOLOGY Infrastructure Solutions is an "accountineering" company, half civil engineers, half financial planners. Building an implementable Asset Management Plan requires both civil engineering and financial planning expertise. Working with smaller municipalities is our only business. We understand that every municipality is unique with its objectives and priorities, so our analytical process involves feedback from Public Works and Treasury. Our objective is to build asset management plans that are practical and implementable. Our intention is to deliver a plan that Athens can manage and that its Council and community can embrace. Under the MIII program in 2013 - 2014, we wrote 60 Asset Management Plans, primarily focused on identifying the infrastructure deficit and required capital contribution. We got frustrated telling Councils that they had big deficits, an over-taxed population, and no hope of getting their infrastructure deficits under control without provincial or federal grants. Since 2014, to promote municipal self-sufficiency, we have been building capital planning and optimization tools to maximize the positive impact of municipal spending. We have been supported in our efforts to build capital planning tools by the Ontario Centers of Excellence (OCE) and NSERC grants through the Civil Engineering department at the University of Waterloo. Our "Better Capital Planning" workshop was delivered at the Municipal Finance Officer's Annual Conference (Collingwood, ON) in Sept. 2015, and the Ministry of Municipal Affairs' Northern Treasurer's Forum in (Sudbury, ON) in Oct. 2015. Most recently, we presented road maintenance, rehabilitation, and reconstruction strategies at the Municipal Engineers Association (MEA) AGM. ReNew Canada (Nov. 2016 issue) magazine and Municipal World magazine (Dec. 2016 issue) published articles about our development of capital planning tools for smaller municipalities. To enhance our capital planning tools and maximize the accuracy of our long-range projections, we developed a comprehensive Municipal Cost Index (MCI) based on a micro-analysis of municipal costs. It includes a weighting of the expenditure categories and the inflation factor used for each municipal component. We match an appropriate inflator to the types of expenditures in each budget category. Infrastructure Solutions Inc. Private and Confidential 6 | P a g e 3.1 ISI ROAD MAINTENANCE SURVEY This year, Infrastructure Solutions Inc. conducted the most comprehensive Canadian survey of municipal road maintenance practices ever undertaken. The 171 survey participants represented 45,000 km of paved road, 15% of Canada's population, and a wide range of municipalities by region and population. The survey was designed to identify the extent to which municipalities apply preventive maintenance treatments, to attain practical observations about treatment options and lifecycle gains, and clarify user perceptions about what constitutes best road maintenance practices. The results are truly disturbing. The survey established that 98% of respondents perceive preventive maintenance as an important and cost-effective approach to extend the service life of their pavements and to save the municipality significant capital investment in the long run. The survey further establishes that a majority of the municipalities do not apply preventive maintenance treatments (Figure 3) and have a widely-varied understanding of when these treatments should be applied. Figure 3: Current Application of Preventive Maintenance Across Canadian Municipalities Respondents were asked what percentage of their municipality they believe is currently being maintained according to best practices. Figure 4 shows the survey's cumulative response on the application of chip seal, micro-surfacing, and slurry seal to paved roads. For every major surface treatment type, less than 20% of municipal road networks are maintained in accordance with what respondents believe to be best practice. Figure 4: Application of Preventive Treatments According to Best Practices Infrastructure Solutions Inc. Private and Confidential 7 | P a g e This contradiction between the clearly appreciated benefits of preventive maintenance and the inadequate application of preventive treatments in practice has deep roots. Municipalities may be overly reactive to community requests. Councils surely follow the advice of Roads Needs Studies, where engineering companies recommend repairing worst roads first for safety and other reasons, assuming an unlimited municipal budget. Deteriorated water or wastewater lines might necessitate road reconstruction for line replacement and take precedence over maintenance. Smaller municipalities often use Excel or simplistic pavement management programs which typically recommend projects based on a simple ranking process. Finally, many municipalities still operate on an ad hoc basis, arbitrarily selecting roads which need rehabilitation or reconstruction work without undertaking any analytical process whatsoever. Whatever the circumstance, tax dollars are being poured into pot holes unnecessarily. Our capital planning tool provides a robust decision-making process, identifies the best possible course of action, and considers both the short-term needs and the long-term goals of a municipality. It includes an advanced decision-making process called optimization or prescriptive modeling, which is the most powerful and effective way of finding the best possible solution to a decision-making problem. A capital planning tool with optimization capability can maximize the overall performance of a network in terms of physical condition (or any other criteria) over a multi- year analysis horizon and provides municipalities with the best possible course of action in terms of timing and selection of different maintenance, rehabilitation, or reconstruction treatments considering all municipal goals and constraints. The improvements achieved through an optimized solution, which inevitably highlights the critical importance of preventive maintenance, can be translated into substantial savings and increased socio-economic benefit (Figure 5). Figure 5: Optimized vs. Conventional Capital Planning Combining advanced optimization capabilities with robust engineering models and socio- economic consideration provides municipalities with a fully implementable and defensible road network capital plan. The analytical models used in the system are flexible, able to adjust to regional variances and reflect the behavior of assets verified through a rigorous engineering analysis. Infrastructure Solutions Inc. Private and Confidential 8 | P a g e 4 SOTI REPORT This State of the Infrastructure (SOTI) assessment is based on an analysis of the replacement, rehabilitation, and maintenance requirements of the Township's asset inventory and its current condition. Infrastructure Solutions has been contracted to assist the Township in analyzing the State of the Infrastructure Report (SOTI) and the assembly of a Capital Plan as the initial components of a comprehensive Asset Management Plan. We include a Report Card on the current state of the major linear assets within the Township. The Capital Plan provides both a high-level assessment of projected Capital expenses and a detailed future project by project costing for the Township's review and confirmation. Our objective is to give the Township the analytical tools and information necessary to implement a comprehensive and cohesive asset management program. We have determined that the Township has a significant backlog of assets in need of betterment or replacement. Dealing with aging infrastructure requires that the Township assesses the long-term capital project requirements and establish the funding of high-priority projects in an efficient, timely and cost-effective manner. With our engineering analysis and project identification, the Township can monitor, track and manage infrastructure assets to ensure that policy makers obtain sufficient funding in order to maintain, at a minimum, and potentially enhance future service levels. Through capital budgeting, the Township of Athens can plan the future operating budget expenses and reserve funds to manage its financial position over a long-term period. Capital planning provides the core information needed for the Council's planning and fiscal policies. The Report Card produced within the SOTI has been developed to provide an easily understood reference that can be regularly updated to document investment gaps and the progress that the Township is making towards sustainability. The SOTI and associated analysis are strategic documents that identify trends and highlight possible issues involved in delivering services and maintaining the assets for those services. The SOTI will also assist in the development of more detailed tactical and operational plans aimed at identifying expenditures needed to provide service in a cost-effective, sustainable manner. Encapsulated within this report ISI presents the Township's State of the Infrastructure report (SOTI), and a description of our methodology. The final Capital Plan contains a more detailed asset data and calculation process. The direction of this project was influenced by the Township's requirement for an Asset Management Plan and the work of the National Guide for Sustainable Municipal Infrastructure. In November 2003, the National Guide to Sustainable Municipal Infrastructure published a Best Practice for Municipal Infrastructure Asset Management. It stated that the framework for an asset management plan can be described in terms of seven questions: 1. What do you have and where is it? (Inventory and Location) 2. What is it worth? (Costs/Replacement Rates) 3. What are its condition and expected remaining service life? (Condition and Capability) 4. What is the service level expectation and what needs to be done? (Capital & Operating Plans) 5. When do you need to do it? (Capital and Operating Plans) 6. How much will it cost and what is the acceptable level of risk? (Short/Long-term Financial Plan) 7. How do you ensure long-term affordability? (Short- and Long-term Financial Plan) This report answers these questions. Infrastructure Solutions Inc. Private and Confidential 9 | P a g e 5 INVENTORY AND THE VALUATION OF ASSETS (SOTI) The aim of this section of the report is to provide an overview of the State of the Infrastructure (SOTI) by an analysis of the available data on the condition and/or age of the Township's assets. The SOTI requirements are restricted to linear assets only. Within the Capital Plan, ISI has included other critical asset types in its analysis for the Township's review. The grouping of these assets and asset replacements were taken from the PSAB files provided by the Township, and the current replacement value of the assets is comprised of these factors: - Value of all the existing assets - New assets - Adjustments in unit costs based on improved knowledge and inflationary impacts - Based on the TCA Policy, a $5.000 capital threshold limit is used and any assets below the threshold have not been accounted for in the capital plan. For the purpose of the Asset Management Plan report, we have grouped the assets as follows: Linear Assets: - Roads - Surface Treated and Gravel - Structures - Bridge and Culvert - Sidewalks Non-linear assets have been dealt with in the Capital Plan: - Buildings - Vehicles - Equipment - Recreation Assets Type Replacement Cost Roads 15,317,288 Bridge & Culvert 900,046 Buildings 6,271,369 Vehicles 881,390 Sidewalks 382,682 Recreation 58,498 Equipment 129,638 Total 23,940,912 Infrastructure Solutions Inc. Private and Confidential 10 | P a g e Figure 6: Asset Replacement Cost by Category 5.1 ROADS The Township of Athens has a total of 73.98 km of roads. Athens has gravel (G/S) and hot mix asphalt (HCB) roads. ROAD GEOMETRICS Road Surface Types The following summarizes the road surface types within the Township: Surface Type Length (km) Percentage Gravel 33.20 44.87 Hot Mix Asphalt 40.78 55.13 64% 4% 26% 4% 2% 0.2% 0.5% Asset Replacement Cost - 2016 Roads Bridges Buildings Vehicles Sidewalks Recreation Equipment Total Replacement Cost $ 23.94 million Infrastructure Solutions Inc. Private and Confidential 11 | P a g e Figure 7: Road Surface Types by Section Length Condition-Based Analysis for Roads The state of the infrastructure for roads is based upon a hybrid age/condition based analysis. For the Township PCI conditions were not available, so the PCI's were estimated based on treatment history and the use of degradation curves. Only the paved (HCB) roads were analyzed, no treatment history or conditions were available for the gravel roads. The following summarizes the Network Pavement Condition Index (PCI) weighted by section length: Surface Type Weighted PCI Hot Mix Asphalt 72.26 Figure 8: Network Road Condition Note: Percentages are calculated based upon the section length of each road type The strategies for rehabilitation/reconstruction for roads are suggested in Appendix A, the detailed capital planning report for the Township. Infrastructure Solutions Inc. Private and Confidential 12 | P a g e OPTIMIZED CAPITAL PLANNING RESULTS This section provides an overall summary of the optimized capital planning results for the paved road network of the Township of Athens. The analysis is only focused on the hot mix asphalt roads (HCB) with a total length of 40.8 km (excluding gravel roads). The road network optimization analysis covers the period from 2017 - 2026, but due to the variance with the plan period only the amounts up to 2025 are considered for the CIP in this Asset Management Plan. Budget Policy Scenarios Optimization analysis is conducted to suggest an adequate level of spending to properly preserve the road network. Accordingly, several scenarios were analyzed. Scenario 1 is the recommended budget level, as suggested by the Township. For Scenario 2, a target analysis was performed to establish the funding level required to maintain the current performance level of the paved roads at a PCI of 72 over the next 10 years. We also included a Do Nothing Scenario 3, to show the network performance if no capital funds are spent on the road network. The following budget scenarios have been used in the optimization analysis: Road Budget Scenarios Year Scenario 1 Scenario 2 Scenario 3 2017 $250,000 $170,000 $0 2018 $250,000 $170,000 $0 2019 $250,000 $170,000 $0 2020 $250,000 $170,000 $0 2021 $250,000 $170,000 $0 2022 $250,000 $170,000 $0 2023 $250,000 $170,000 $0 2024 $250,000 $170,000 $0 2025 $250,000 $170,000 $0 2026 $250,000 $170,000 $0 Total $2,500,000 $1,700,000 $0 The optimization objective is to maximize the network overall performance considering municipal budget limits. The 'Network Overall Performance' represents the network performance considering network pavement condition index (PCI) in addition to any available macro and micro policy factors, for example functional classes, surface types, roadside environments, traffic, service types, and socio-economic considerations, as set by the municipality where applicable. The network overall performance has a numerical value between 0 and 100, with 100 representing the best possible performance and 0 representing the worst possible performance. The results also report the 'Network Physical Performance' based on a weighted average PCI by sections' length. The network physical performance is further divided into different functional classes, if applicable, to better investigate the impact of budget policies on different classes of roads considering their relative importance. Available Treatments and their Associated Costs ISI's comprehensive list of pavement maintenance/rehabilitation/reconstruction treatments, cost database, and decision tree have been used in the analysis to determine feasible treatments and their associated cost in the optimization analysis. To predict future pavement condition, a series of degradation curves, developed by ISI in collaboration with Golder Associates, has been used for different classes of roads considering surface type, subgrade strength, functional classes, and Infrastructure Solutions Inc. Private and Confidential 13 | P a g e traffic data. The detailed list of applied treatments and their associated cost can be found in Appendix A. Network Optimization Results Optimization analysis has been performed to produce a workable capital plan considering municipal budgetary constraints while maximizing network overall performance to achieve the highest possible investment efficiency. The recommended capital expenditure (CapEx) over the capital plan under each budget scenario is shown in the table below. Figure 9 shows a comparison between different budget scenarios in terms of network overall performance. In comparison with ranking or prioritization solutions, depending on the utilized ranking method, the optimization shows 15% to 30% added performance on average. The current overall performance of the network has been determined at 72.3. Using the recommended budgeting strategy Scenario 1, over the next 10 years, the performance of the network is improved to a PCI of 79.5 overall, which is a very good network condition. For the lower budget Scenario 2, the current level of performance is maintained with a PCI of 72, while the zero budget Scenario 3 yields a PCI of 52 at the end of plan, which brings the overall network down to borderline poor condition. Figure 9: Scenario Comparison - Overall Network Performance Figure 10 shows the condition status of the network at each year for each budget scenario. As shown in this figure, 21.7% of the network is in poor, 20.7% in fair, and 11.9% in good, and 45.8% in excellent condition at the beginning of the plan. For Scenario 1 at the end of the plan 3.1% of the network will be in poor condition, 12.2% in fair, 27.5% in good, and 57.2% of the paved roads 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 Network Overall Performance Scenario 1 Scenario 2 Scenario 3 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 1 $249,976 $248,713 $249,868 $247,170 $248,860 $247,427 $245,621 $237,853 $249,450 2 $169,894 $167,457 $165,865 $167,941 $169,906 $163,628 $163,299 $165,011 $168,653 3 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Infrastructure Solutions Inc. Private and Confidential 14 | P a g e will be in excellent condition. For the lower budget Scenario 2, after 10 years 15.1% will be in poor and 15.6% in fair condition, while 15.2% will be in good and 54.1% in excellent condition. For the zero budget Scenario 3 at the end of plan 54.2% of the paved roads will be in poor condition, 12.1% in fair, 14.3% in good, and 19.4% in excellent condition, a significant degradation of the network performance. Network Condition Distribution - Budget Scenario 1 Network Condition Distribution - Budget Scenario 2 Network Condition Distribution - Budget Scenario 3 Figure 10: Scenario Comparison - Annual Network Condition Status Infrastructure Solutions Inc. Private and Confidential 15 | P a g e Paved road infrastructure deficit is estimated $1,412,160 in the beginning of the plan. Figure 11 shows the deficit projections under each budget scenario. With the recommended budget Scenario 1 the projected deficit is estimated to be $194,925 at the end of the plan, showing a 79% reduction. With Scenario 2, the deficit is estimated at $1,423,315, practically unchanged from the beginning of the plan, while with Scenario 3 the end of plan deficit is estimated at $4,265,135, which is 3 times the original deficit. Road Infrastructure Deficit Projection for Different Budget Scenarios Figure 11: Scenario Comparison - Infrastructure Deficit Projection RECOMMENDED PROJECTS The road replacement costs are based on contractor costs for the region that have been indexed based on our "Municipal Cost Index". ISI used numerous deterioration curves built into its road network capital planning and optimization software to make recommendations on Athens' road network capital plan. These results are captured in Appendix A. GRAVEL ROADS The gravel road expenses are treated as operating expenses and are not included in the Capital Plan. Lifecycle Activities - Loosetop (Unpaved) We are only dealing with paved roads in this Capital Plan. Gravel road expenses are being captured as operating expenses, and inserting them into the Capital Plan would be a redundant entry. Our only concern is that the Township establishes whether it is allocating sufficient funds in its Operating Budget to cover the gravel road expenses. The OGRA strategy for gravel roads is to re-gravel roads 75 mm every 3 to 5 years depending on the AADT. Every Township we work with does annual maintenance rather than a 5-year resurfacing to 75 mm Granular A. $0 $500,000 $1,000,000 $1,500,000 $2,000,000 $2,500,000 $3,000,000 $3,500,000 $4,000,000 $4,500,000 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 Scenario 1 Scenario 2 Scenario 3 Infrastructure Solutions Inc. Private and Confidential 16 | P a g e Timing Activity Activity Quantity Class of Road 4 5 6 Annual Grading Dust suppression Ditching Culvert cleaning Safety devices 8 x per year 4t per kilometer 1 x per year as required 6 x per year 4t per kilometer 1 x per year as required 6 x per year 4t per kilometer 1 x per year as required 3 years 75mm Granular A All roads All roads 5 years 75mm Granular A All roads 6 years 75mm Granular A Spot repairs Drainage replacement All roads 10% 12% All roads 10% 12% 10 years 75mm Granular A Spot repairs Drainage replacement All roads 10% 12% Figure 12: Gravel Road Maintenance Strategy (OGRA) To Pave or Not To Pave Gravel Paved roads provide improvement over gravel in ways that are hard to quantify with dollars, including improved winter surfaces, improved safety with better signage and delineation, a safer surface with higher skid resistance, a smoother surface that increases user satisfaction and reduces vehicle maintenance costs, redistribution of traffic away from gravel roads, and an increased tax base on adjacent property. Like everything else, maintenance costs for both paved and unpaved roads are rising. Reduced funding and resources require more efficient use of available money. The decision on when to pave a gravel road is not easy, but an increase in traffic does lead to an increase in maintenance costs, especially for gravel roads. This is due to more lost gravel due to wear, and an increased need for blading and smoothing of the road surface. Figure 13: Economics of Upgrading an Aggregate Road (The Minnesota Local Road Research Board, 2005) $0 $500 $1,000 $1,500 $2,000 $2,500 $3,000 0-49 50-74 75-99 100-124 125-149 150-199 200-249 250-300 301-999 1000-up Maintenance Cost/Mile ADT Range Maintenance of Paved and Gravel Roads Bituminous Gravel Infrastructure Solutions Inc. Private and Confidential 17 | P a g e Traffic is a primary factor in deciding to pave or not to pave. Gravel road maintenance costs per mile appear to increase considerably after an ADT level of 200 vehicles/day. Paved roads are most cost-effective at ADT levels above 150 vehicles/day. Informed decisions can be made based on traffic data, local construction and maintenance costs, and area growth values to determine if and when a roadway should be paved. 5.2 BRIDGE AND LARGE CULVERT This group comprises: - Bridge - There is 1 bridge (Beales Mills) in the inventory - Large Culvert - There is 1 large culvert (Elbe Creek) in the inventory The most current bridge inspection was completed for the Township in 2013 by Genivar. The recommended repairs and rehabilitation requirements for the next 10 years have been incorporated in the Capital Plan Bridge Condition Index Condition assessment was provided to ISI by the Township, and the Bridge Condition Index (BCI) was calculated based on the consultant's report and condition assessments. Deterioration curves were used to determine the 2016 condition of these assets. The MTO Bridge Condition Index rating is provided by the Ontario Ministry of Transportation which describes maintenance requirements within each range as follows: Good: BCI Range 70 - 100: It is usually not required to perform any maintenance work within the next five years Fair: BCI Range 60 - 69: Maintenance work is usually required within the next five years Poor: BCI Less than 60: Maintenance work is usually required within one year Figure 14: Bridge & Culvert Condition Rating The conditions of the Township's bridge and culvert are good. 71 72 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Beales Mills Bridge Elbe Creek Culvert BCI (Bridge Condition Index) Bridge & Culvert Conditions Analysis - 2016 Poor <60 Fair 60-69 Good 70-100 Infrastructure Solutions Inc. Private and Confidential 18 | P a g e 5.3 SIDEWALKS The state of the infrastructure (SOTI) for sidewalks is done based upon age based analysis due to non-availability of conditions. This group comprises: - Sidewalks - Walkway (Elgin St. to Layng Dr.) Figure 15: Sidewalks Condition Rating The average condition of the Township's sidewalks is poor. 5.4 SOTI CONCLUSION Asset Group Overall Condition Rating Rating Range (Conditions) Comments Roads A A Good 70 to 100 Condition rating based on a hybrid age/condition-based analysis B Fair 50 to 69 C Poor 0 to 49 Range (in Years) Sidewalks C A Good 0 To 15 Years Condition rating based on age- based analysis B Fair 16 To 30 Years C Poor > 31+ Years Range (Conditions) Bridge & Culvert A A Good 70 to 100 Condition rating based on bridge inspection reports B Fair 60 to 69 C Poor 0 to 59 Figure 16: Linear Asset Condition Rating Report Card 3 83 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 Sidewalk Walkway Sidewalks Average Useful Life Analysis - 2016 Good 0 to 15 years Fair 16 to 30 years Poor 31+ years 3,333 m2 180 m2 Infrastructure Solutions Inc. Private and Confidential 19 | P a g e As highlighted in the Report Card above, the current state of the linear infrastructure, based on available condition rating analysis, presents a picture of the Township's linear assets. The condition analysis according to the asset type is as follows: - Paved roads are in good condition - Bridge & culvert are in good condition - Sidewalks are in poor condition The Township should continue to be proactive in their strategies, so as to extend asset useful life and avoid major rehabilitation/reconstruction or replacement costs. 6 NON-LINEAR ASSET TYPES 6.1 BUILDINGS This group comprises of buildings like the Township office, fire hall, Centre '76 arena, etc. The replacement cost of the buildings is taken from historical cost, inflated to 2016, and 2016 insurance documents provided by the Township and HST of 1.76% is added to the base costs. For the Township's facilities, ISI conducted an age-based analysis to determined condition assessments to maintain the current portfolio. All recommended projects as per the study are placed in Appendix A. Figure 17: Buildings Condition Rating 91 47 31 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Buildings Buildings % of Remaining Service Life (RSL) Analysis - 2016 Good 61%-100% Fair 41%-60% Poor < 41% Salt Shed Cent. Park Canteen Centre '76 Arena Township Office Fire Hall Public Works Garage Library Infrastructure Solutions Inc. Private and Confidential 20 | P a g e 6.2 VEHICLES The vehicle group comprises of fire rescue. pumper & tanker trucks, works trucks, Zamboni, etc. The replacement cost is calculated using the Township's PSAB report for 2015, and in the case of the costs not provided, the historical costs have been indexed using the CPI and Municipal Cost Index and added 1.76% HST to the costs. Further review and discussion with the Township are required to ascertain the accuracy of the Township's vehicle requirements. Figure 18: Vehicles Condition Rating 6.3 RECREATION The recreation group comprises of playground structures. The replacement cost is calculated using the Township's PSAB report for 2015, and in the case of the costs not provided, the historical costs have been indexed using the CPI and Municipal Cost Index and added 1.76% HST to the costs. 78 50 18 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Vehicles Vehicles % of Remaining Service Life (RSL) Analysis - 2016 Good 61%-100% Fair 41%-60% Poor < 41% 2005 Chev Recue #1 1990 GMC Pumper 1993 GMC Tanker #2 2007 International Pumper #1 Zamboni Ice Rescue Boat 2014 GMC Sierra 3/4 ton 2015 Chev Dump 2008 Ford Rescue #2 Infrastructure Solutions Inc. Private and Confidential 21 | P a g e Figure 19: Recreation Condition Rating 6.4 EQUIPMENT The equipment group comprises of fire pagers/radio & bunker gear, office & IT equipment, etc. The replacement cost is calculated using historical costs that have been indexed using the CPI and Municipal Cost Index and added 1.76% HST to the costs. Further review and discussion with the Township are required to ascertain the accuracy of the Township's equipment requirements. Figure 20: Equipment Condition Rating 7 CAPITAL PLAN 7.1 BACKGROUND Managing the Township's capital assets requires an assessment of the long-term capital project requirements and the establishment of the funding for high-priority projects in an efficient, timely 80 40 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Recreation Areas Recreation Areas % of Remaining Service Life (RSL) Analysis - 2016 Good 61%-100% Fair 41%-60% Poor < 41% Playground - Memorial Park Playground - Centennial Park 87 40 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Equipment Equipment % of Remaining Service Life (RSL) Analysis - 2016 Good 61%-100% Fair 41%-60% Poor < 41% Great Plains - IT Equiment Server - IT Equipment Fire Dept Pager/Radio Fire Dept Bunker Gear Office Printer Infrastructure Solutions Inc. Private and Confidential 22 | P a g e and cost-effective manner. As a result of this analysis, the Township will be able to more effectively monitor, track and manage infrastructure assets, to ensure that policy makers obtain sufficient funding in order to maintain, at a minimum, and potentially enhance future service levels. Through capital planning, the Township of Athens can plan the future operating budget expenses and reserve funds to manage the financial position over a long-term period. Capital planning also provides the core information needed for implementing the Council's planning and fiscal policies. An Asset Management Plan provides many benefits including: - A systematic evaluation of all potential projects at the same time. - The ability to stabilize the debt and consolidate projects to reduce borrowing costs. - To serve as a public relations and economic development tool. - A focus on preserving a municipal government's infrastructure while ensuring the efficient use of public funds. - An opportunity to foster cooperation among departments and the general public regarding the Township's priorities. 7.2 OVERVIEW The Capital Plan, an integral part of an Asset Management Plan, is a blueprint for planning a community's capital expenditures and is one of the most important responsibilities of local government officials. It coordinates community planning, financial capacity, and physical development. It is a tool to assess the long-term capital project requirements of a Township and to establish funding of high-priority projects in a timely and cost-effective fashion. The development of a Capital Plan is intended to ensure that policy makers are responsible to residents and businesses of the community with respect to the expenditure of public funds. It also promotes the provision of continuous efficient services. The Capital Plan provides a detailed understanding of anticipated investments into tangible capital assets. These assets include basic facilities, services, and installations needed for the functioning of the community. The development of a CIP that will ensure sound fiscal and capital planning requires effective leadership and the involvement and cooperation of all municipal departments. A complete, properly developed CIP has the following benefits: - Facilitates coordination between capital needs and the operating budgets - Enhances the community's credit rating, control of its tax rate, and avoids sudden changes in its debt service requirements - Identifies the most economical means of financing capital projects - Increases opportunities for obtaining federal and provincial aid - Relates public facilities to other public and private development and redevelopment policies and plans - Focuses attention on community objectives and fiscal capacity - Keeps the public informed about future needs and projects - Encourages careful project planning and design to avoid costly mistakes and help a community reach desired goals A municipal government must take care of two key responsibilities in managing its infrastructure: - The first major responsibility is the maintenance and repair of existing infrastructure. Given the high cost to replace linear assets and the fact that they are essential to providing programs and services to the public, it is extremely important that regular maintenance Infrastructure Solutions Inc. Private and Confidential 23 | P a g e and periodic refurbishments be done to keep facilities and other assets in good working condition for as long as possible. - The second major responsibility that municipal governments have is to plan and construct new community infrastructure. This involves several steps including deciding what services are to be provided, identifying community needs, careful planning, determining priority investments, figuring out how to finance projects and good management to ensure projects are completed on time and on budget. Although the Capital Plan is generally maintained separately from the operating budget, they do work in unison since the debt charges on funds borrowed for capital expenditures become expense items in the annual operating budget. In addition, operating and maintenance costs of capital assets have an impact on the operating budget. In order to have a realistic, workable Capital Plan, therefore, it is necessary to estimate the effect that debt service and operating costs will have on future tax rates. In this way, non-essential capital expenditures will not be undertaken at the expense of pending essential capital projects and the Township will thus be in a better position to control future debt levels. 7.3 METHODOLOGY The Township of Athens' Capital Plan addresses infrastructure deficiencies and future capital expenditures. It includes existing service infrastructure not meeting engineering standards, the cost of renovation or replacement of infrastructure which has exceeded its service life and which as a consequence, is not meeting required service standards. Provision is required to renovate or replace previously constructed infrastructure when it reaches the end of its service life. These costs do not include on-going operational and regular maintenance (which typically represent the greatest cost component of a facility's service life, for example). Unless informed by the Township, requirements such as investments required to support industrial, commercial and residential development in accordance with the growth projections required to serve the community and social needs as well as supply the increasing population and to service to the boundaries of new subdivisions have not been analyzed. The Township's Capital Plan includes: - Development of parameters for each asset class - Development of rehabilitation and replacement unit costs - Identifying the asset types to be included in the Capital Plan and determining and confirming the components of each asset class - Identification of services to be provided and the capital expenditures to be incurred - Determination of secondary cost estimates of capital expenditures (consideration of cost elements such as remoteness of the Township, land, architect/engineering fees, construction, legal fees, taxes, etc.). The non-rebatable portion of HST at 1.76% has been applied, for example - Determination of the time periods over which the asset is to be constructed or acquired and the costs prorated accordingly The methodology used for building this Capital Plan was to: 1) Determine the "unconstrained" rate of capital expenditure (assuming an unlimited budget). A constrained rate of capital expenditure is provided in the final report. 2) Identify the Township's current infrastructure deficit. 3) Determine the Township's future requirements Infrastructure Solutions Inc. Private and Confidential 24 | P a g e 4) Prepare a report detailing the capital required for each asset class based on current rehabilitation and replacement unit costs 5) Establish the cost of maintaining existing infrastructure while addressing the infrastructure deficit. Infrastructure Solutions Inc. Private and Confidential 25 | P a g e 8 ASSET MANAGEMENT PLAN RESULTS The Township's Infrastructure Deficit has been determined to be about $2.0 million. "Infrastructure Deficit", as defined by Public Sector Accounting Board*, "is the added investment that would be required to maintain a municipality's infrastructure at appropriate service levels and in a good state of repair". The Infrastructure Deficit by asset category is shown in Figure 21. Figure 21: 2016 Infrastructure Deficit by Asset Category Like most other local governments in this province, Athens is struggling with aging infrastructure and constrained budgets. Upon completion of the collection of all the pertinent data, the capital plan was generated, broken down by asset class for the years 2016 to 2025 (with HST and without inflationary factor), was developed. Inflation will be incorporated in the financial analysis. The results are as follows: $0 $0 $0 $215,905 $18,629 $1,412,160 $374,382 $0 $500,000 $1,000,000 $1,500,000 $2,000,000 Buildings Recreation Equipment Vehicles Bridges & Culverts Roads Sidewalks 2016 Infrastructure Deficit Total Infrastructure Deficit $2.02 million Infrastructure Solutions Inc. Private and Confidential 26 | P a g e Timeframe Year Capital Projects (Incl. HST) Year 2016-2025 2016 - 2017 249,976 2018 268,438 2019 291,956 2020 247,170 2021 380,271 2022 247,427 2023 265,347 2024 318,405 2025 260,919 Total 2,529,909 Figure 22: Summary of Capital Plan 2016-2025 A detailed project-by-project breakdown of this Capital Plan and all proposed or consultant's/study recommended projects are included in the capital project list in Appendix A. Timeframe Year Roads Sidewalks Bridges and Culverts Buildings Recreation Vehicles Equipment 2016 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 2017 $249,976 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 2018 $248,713 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $19,725 2019 $249,868 $0 $0 $0 $0 $42,088 $0 2020 $247,170 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 2021 $248,860 $0 $0 $0 $0 $131,411 $0 2022 $247,427 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 2023 $245,621 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $19,725 2024 $237,853 $0 $0 $0 $24,814 $40,793 $14,945 2025 $249,450 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $11,468 Year 2016- 2025 $- $50,000 $100,000 $150,000 $200,000 $250,000 $300,000 $350,000 $400,000 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 Capital Plan - 2016-2025 Sidewalks Roads Bridges & Culverts Vehicles Equipment Recreation Buildings Infrastructure Solutions Inc. Private and Confidential 27 | P a g e 9 LEVELS OF SERVICE 9.1 OVERVIEW Levels of Service (LOS) are statements of service performance delivery. LOS is established based on Council direction, the needs or wants of the community as well as legislative and regulatory requirements. This report includes Operating Performance Indicators (OPI's) for current levels of service. Through the ongoing Asset Management process, LOS will be further defined for the Township, the Township's assets, and the community. They all are interconnected. There is likely further effort required by the Township to address and formally define levels of service from a customer perspective. Asset management, at its root, is really about balancing the full life cycle costs of various services and the levels of service being provided. It is about knowing what levels of service customers expect and what they are willing to pay. The level of service is a reflection of the quality, function, and capacity of the services being provided. As a Township, you might consider: - The level of service you are currently providing to users - The annual cost to continue to provide the current level of service - How the current level of service is expected to change in the future given current funding levels - If you are meeting the level of service expectations of your users given the costs to provide current, increased or decreased levels of service As a rough generalization, the higher the level of service provided, the higher the life cycle costs of providing that service. Levels of service drive the expected treatments in the management of infrastructure. Customer levels of service outline the overall quality, function, capacity, and safety of the service being provided. Technical levels of service outline the operating, maintenance, rehabilitation, renewal and upgrade activities expected to occur within the Township. When practicing asset management, it is important to first document the current level of service being provided. As asset management becomes more established within your Township, levels of service may be set through consultation with the community. However, it is critical that prior to consulting with the public, the current levels of service along with associated life cycle costs are understood. It is also important to discuss how various levels of service may have different risks associated with them. These risks may play an important role in determining if certain levels of service are acceptable. As with all economic analysis, a sensitivity analysis should be carried out on those parameters which are more likely to be beyond the control of the organization, such as market forces affecting the opportunity cost of capital, community expectations/perception on risk and factors in the long-term, health and safety effects, community economic effects, environmental and social effects, feasibility including public support and the Township's readiness. 9.2 METHODOLOGY The implementation of a formal Maintenance Management System (MMS), among many other items, measures the response time, lag time, total time to resolution, resources involved, and communication logs for all issues identified internally and by customers. Going forward, this type Infrastructure Solutions Inc. Private and Confidential 28 | P a g e of information not only provides the basis for resource and program management decisions but is key information that will provide council and the public with the service level information in relation to the cost of service. Historically a significant portion of activities has been provided at a 'best we can do with what we have' basis. Through a review of design guidelines, and metrics being captured by the MMS, the Township of Athens can re-orientate service delivery that is driven by service level expectations that incorporate Level of Service factors. To assist in better establishing Levels of Service, the Township should also consider collecting technical performance measures needed to provide information on: - the types of failure - the number of customers affected - the duration of the failure - the severity of the failure This kind of technical performance measurement and monitoring is undertaken to support decision-making by the asset managers within an organization. It addresses issues for consideration in the effective management of the assets, such as: - Assessing the effectiveness of the operational, maintenance and capital works program - Review and refinement of maintenance and rehabilitation strategies and standards - Assistance in strategic decision-making through the definition of remaining life, based on the measure being assessed, e.g. capacity of a pipe versus demand. Benchmarking and other comparison management techniques are used both internally and for external regulation and monitoring, to assess the performance of infrastructure groups and asset owners. Each Township needs to consider developing rating systems to judge the assets from both a Township's perspective with the values that it brings to the organization, and also from a user's or regulator's perspective, in terms of the functionality, suitability, cost and service performance of the asset. 9.3 LEVELS OF SERVICE PROCESS Some Levels of Service (LOS) for the Township can be attained through documents developed in the industry and by internally focusing on technical requirements that meet generally expected levels of operation and safety: - Provincial Minimum Maintenance Standards (MMS) for roads, street lighting, water and drainage - Drinking Water Quality Management System (DWQMS) - Engineering Standards Manuals Operating Performance Indicators - These are the main activities within each operating budget cost center. These activities (OPI's) link directly to the level of service provided by the Township. The OPI's also include maintenance tasks that help extend asset life. A good balance between asset replacement through capital funding and ongoing maintenance provides the best cost efficiency and service productivity. Infrastructure Solutions Inc. Private and Confidential 29 | P a g e 9.4 OPERATING PERFORMANCE INDICATOR EXAMPLE ROADS Service Operating Performance Indicators (OPI) Current Performance Target Performance Timeframe Examples for Roads below: Road Maintenance & Repairs Complete approximately X work orders per year for service requests including pothole repair, minor asphalt patching, sightline improvement, MVA clean-up. 1500 500 3 Years Brushing and Roadside Mowing Complete approximately X km's of brushing on roadsides annually. N/A 50 km 2 Years Complete roadside mowing X times annually 2 3 3 years Boulevard Maintenance Twice per year cut every boulevard in the Township. 2 3 3 Years Annual weeding, cleaning, and caulking of X km of sidewalk and curb. 7 7 Maintain sight lines at intersections for vehicle and pedestrian safety. 14 Days 14 Days Timeline Achieved Roads Recapped ____km's - Annual Average 8 30 2 Years Gravel Roads Surface Treated ___km's - Annual Average 3.5 20 2 Years Curbing/Shoulders Annual repair, by August, of all curbing damage in previous winter. September July 1 Year Sidewalks & Walkways Completed Inspections____ times per year 1 1 Timeline Achieved Sidewalks / Walkways swept _____ times per year 1 1 Timeline Achieved Vandalism Within X hours of notification, remove graffiti. 48 24 1 Year Street Lighting Service requests for street light repair completed within X hours. 5 days 48 hours 1 Year Signs Annual inspection and maintenance of all X stop signs. 1225 1225 Timeline Achieved Annual inspection of crosswalk, pedestrian, school and playground signs and beacons. September July 1 Year Annual Upgrade of X signs to diamond grade 12 25 1 Year Infrastructure Solutions Inc. Private and Confidential 30 | P a g e Snow and Ice Control Major roads including emergency routes during winter events. 16 Hours 16 Hours Timeline Achieved Residential areas - through roads first then cul-de-sacs and dead ends. 16 Hours 16 Hours Timeline Achieved Residential areas will be plowed and maintained within 96 hours unless snow and icy conditions return crews back to major roads. 16 Hours 16 Hours Timeline Achieved VEHICLES - FLEET Service Operating Performance Indicators (OPI) Current Performance Target Performance Timeframe Fleet Maintenance Undertake preventative maintenance and repairs to meet industry standards for safety and operation. Daily Daily Timeline Achieved Maintain fleet availability at X%. 80 100 3 Years Small Equipment Inventory, maintain and repair X pieces of small equipment for use by all departments. 40 40 Timeline Achieved Preventative Maintenance Services X units inspected every X months to maintain safety and fleet efficiency. 32 Units every 250 Hours 32 Units every 250 Hours Timeline Achieved 10 FINANCIAL PROJECTIONS Our first steps in Financial Forecasting include compounding/inflating historical costs to Present Value (2015/16) and then further compounding/inflating these numbers to meet future requirements. To maximize the accuracy of our projections, we have developed a comprehensive "Municipal Cost Index (MCI)". To further fine-tune our projections, we do a micro- analysis of your geographic region. Our basic assumptions and calculations, included within this document, are key to the planning process and serve as the base for the forecasting and predicting your future budgetary requirements and needs. Infrastructure Solutions Inc. Private and Confidential 31 | P a g e 10.1 CONSUMER PRICE INDEX: OUR PERSPECTIVE A price index measures the change in the costs of purchasing a fixed basket of goods and services in the current period, compared to a base period, typically month-over-month or year-over-year. The most widely applied measure of inflation/price index is the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Given its pervasive use in setting cost-of-living adjustments, it can be the appropriate metric when calculating the rate of consumer inflation at the national level. Major components of the CPI include housing, food, and transportation. Source: www.marketmonetarist.com Extending the use of the CPI into discussions about the appropriate level of tax and fee rate increases becomes problematic, however, because a government's actual experience with inflation can differ greatly from the CPI. This is because the largest expenditures for governments are typically labor, materials, and contractual services -- different factors than those found in the CPI. Spending patterns that are different than those of other economic sectors. A price index that does not reflect the municipal purchasing structure does not truly reflect changes in the cost experience, and thus the purchasing power, of local governments. For instance, the CPI reflects household spending patterns that focus on shelter (27.7 percent of the Statistics Canada CPI basket), transportation (19.5 percent), food (15.5 percent), and recreation (12.9 percent) -- none of which registers as leading purchase categories for local governments. Infrastructure Solutions Inc. Private and Confidential 32 | P a g e There are two main parts to the MCI calculation: the weightings of the expenditure categories (showing the relative importance of items in the index), and the inflation factor used for each component. The inflation factors for expected price changes are based on economic data from two main sources, the Conference Board of Canada (CBOC) and Statistics Canada. The key issue is to match an appropriate inflator from these external sources to the types of expenditures in each budget category. MCI can be used in the following ways: - To measure the increase in overall municipal expenditures attributed to inflation; - To allow managers to more closely monitor the increase in spending by expenditure category, thus making inflationary price increases or decreases more visible; - To provide an indication of the historical, current, and future direction of prices relative to municipal expenditures; - To explain increased expenditures attributed to inflation when submitting annual budgets. 10.2 MUNICIPAL COST INDEX Municipal Cost Index (MCI), entails both inflationary and non-inflationary components along with their Weight and Inflators. MCI has been created in such a way that it focuses on the overall yearly impacts of a basket of goods that our clients have maximum exposure to and represents the operational/working capital needs on an ongoing basis. MCI will be used to a part of the assumptions in the following calculations: - Municipal Cost Index is used as an integral part of Capital Planning Module, MCI served as the base for inflating/compounding historical costs to Present Value - Financial Forecasting Municipal Cost Index will be used as a compounding/inflation factor till the 2016 financial year and then the compounding/inflationary factor will be based on reliable research reports like RBC, TD, Scotia Bank, Stats Canada to predict the rest of the years (basis Inflation rate, GDP growth rate, Population, Risk Free Rate, Market Premium Rate etc. will be considered for a constant growth rate) - Breakdown of revenue and expenditure and predicting the sources of funds and expenses Athens' Municipal Cost Index is attached as Appendix C. 10.3 FINANCIAL STRATEGY ASSUMPTIONS The following summarizes the key assumptions used in the preparation of the financial strategy for major assets:  2.3% annual operating income increase (property taxation, base scenario)  2% annual increase in user fees and 1% increase in other revenues  2% annual operating expenditure increase  2% annual increase in capital replacement costs  Gas Tax Fund $90,283 (not inflated)  Existing funding sources, as identified in the 2015 FIR  No growth-related capital has been included in the analysis as the financial strategy relates to the replacement of existing assets.  Capital replacement needs as identified in the previous section of this report Infrastructure Solutions Inc. Private and Confidential 33 | P a g e It is important to keep in mind that assumptions may significantly change over time. In addition, capital replacement cost estimates may vary from current projections. As such, there is a need to monitor the financial strategy over time. 10.4 FUNDING REQUIREMENTS In our efforts to create the best plan moving forward for the Township, ISI decided to create two scenarios:  Capital Plan including infrastructure deficit (backlog)  Capital Plan (excluding infrastructure deficit) A Capital Plan that would eliminate the deficit over the next 10 years would require the Township to make an average annual capital investment of $460,158 as compared to the current contribution of $205,628. By our calculations, the Township would be required to increase property taxes by more than 9% annually, making this scenario a highly unlikely choice. The Township would need to be successful in attaining government grants/funding to deal with its infrastructure deficit. In our opinion, it is unlikely, based on the non-criticality of the funding requests, that the Township would be successful in its applications to the extent required. We believe that self-sufficiency should be the Township's objective. The Township will continue to experience an infrastructure deficit like many other similarly-sized municipalities. ISI recommends what it believes to be an implementable capital plan as a roadmap and encapsulate the Township's capital projects for the next 10 years. By our calculations, the average annual capital requirement is $258,051 and the existing contribution to the capital program is $205,628. The Township needs to increase its current contribution and build reserves so that it can prepare to maintain service levels and meet future capital requirements. The Township's strategies to close/reduce the gap will be discussed in the next section of the report. Figure 23: Capital Program Contributions (Required vs. Existing) $- $50,000 $100,000 $150,000 $200,000 $250,000 $300,000 $350,000 $400,000 $450,000 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 Current Average Contributions Average Required Contributions Infrastructure Solutions Inc. Private and Confidential 34 | P a g e 10.5 FINANCIAL STRATEGIES - THE INFRASTRUCTURE GAP Financial sustainability requires that a Township ensures that there are sufficient resources to support the delivery of services for which the Township bears responsibility. Given the need and benefit for further infrastructure investment in order to protect, sustain, and maximize the use of Athens' infrastructure assets, a number of options and strategies have been considered. STRATEGY 1: SPECIAL LEVY General Infrastructure ISI recommends that the Township implement a special infrastructure levy for the replacement of existing infrastructure. For example, a special infrastructure annual levy increase of 4% would generate sufficient revenues to reduce the tax related infrastructure gap beyond 10 years. This levy would meet the requirement of the projected $258,051 annual contribution. By increasing the levy by an additional 4% annually the Township will increase the funds available over the 10-year period by approximately $1.3 MM. This reflects the significant power of compounding:  In year one, the additional 4% special levy would generate an additional $43,563  In year 10, with an assumed 4% special infrastructure levy, this would generate an additional $279,380 The following table is provided for illustrated purposes to help explain the significant potential through a modest levy increase to address the tax infrastructure gap: 4% Special Infrastructure Levy 2017 $ 43,563 2018 $ 67,404 2019 $ 92,708 2020 $ 119,543 2021 $ 147,984 2022 $ 178,106 2023 $ 209,990 2024 $ 243,719 2025 $ 279,380 Total $ 1,382,396 Average Income $ 153,600 STRATEGY 2: RETHINKING INFRASTRUCTURE/SERVICES There is always the potential to reduce infrastructure costs by determining the most cost-effective options for all capital programs for new or rehabilitated infrastructure by pursuing life cycle costing analysis which was discussed earlier in the report. Further, as indicated previously, the timing to replace assets is based on the analysis undertaken using theoretical assumptions in some cases. Due to the funds available, there will be a need to identify where the replacement of some assets may be deferred. Infrastructure Solutions Inc. Private and Confidential 35 | P a g e Many municipalities develop rehabilitation and replacement programs on a system-wide program basis versus annual project by project basis. This will allow for improved prioritization and coordination of required works within similar geographic areas. Recognizing the significance of the infrastructure deficit, the Township should consider a services review with the objective of re-evaluating the priorities of the community and cost of services provided. STRATEGY 3: STRATEGIC USE OF DEBT In some circumstances, it makes good sense to incur debt today rather than take the consequence and cost of allowing assets to deteriorate to a point where replacement or reconstruction would substantially increase cost to the community. The concepts involved with changing the oil in our cars and fixing the roof of our house also apply to preventive maintenance on road networks, for example. Keep a road in good shape with regular maintenance and you will never face a full reconstruction. Due to the backlog in the tax-supported programs, there is a need to examine the cost/benefit of addressing these needs through the issuance of debt. Using debt strategically can provide capital funding flexibility by allowing certain infrastructure to be built and used before sufficient revenue has accumulated to offset the needed investment. Debt is frequently issued and considered a standard practice in Municipalities for capital projects that are long term in nature and that benefit future taxpayers, thereby spreading the costs across future years. As such, debt promotes inter-generational equity in that infrastructure is paid for by those who use it. With favourable interest rates and significant backlog, the Township may wish to consider the need to issue debt to expedite capital replacement. Infrastructure Ontario interest rates at the time of this report are as follows:  10 year - 2.64%  15 year - 3.05%  20 year - 3.33% For example, if the Township were to issue $1 million in debt to address a portion of the backlog deemed to be the highest priority that was beyond reserve availability, the debt payments would be approximately $88,000 (assuming 15-year term). A debt management policy improves the quality of decisions, identifies policy goals and demonstrates a commitment to long-term financial planning, including a multi-year plan. Adherence to a debt management plan signals to rating agencies and capital markets that the Township is well managed and is well positioned to meet its obligations in a timely manner. The Province regulates the amount of debt that Municipalities issue by setting an annual repayment limit for each Township (25% of a Township's own source revenues). Based on our experience, Municipalities typically establish thresholds below the Provincial limit to take into consideration taxpayer affordability and to ensure flexibility. In addition to a debt guideline, monitoring also becomes important when considering the idea of the increased use of debt as a funding source to ensure that it is being used in a fiscally responsible manner. Government Finance Officers Association recommends that Municipalities adopt policies that specify appropriate uses for debt. The following strategies are recommended to determine the most appropriate time to issue debt  Debt will be proportionate to the Township's tax base and will not put an excessive burden on operating expenditures. Infrastructure Solutions Inc. Private and Confidential 36 | P a g e  Outstanding and planned debt levels will not exceed an amount that can be supported by the existing and projected tax revenue base. Debt policies will focus on: o projected debt requirement o limits and benchmarks o term and structure of debt o use of reserves to offset debt issuance  Long-term debt for the replacement and refurbishment of existing capital assets will be reduced and a planned process will be developed whereby an annual contribution will be made to meet lifecycle needs of all assets. The following policies are recommended to manage debt within the Township:  Tax Debt Charges as a percentage of Tax Own Source Revenues will not exceed 10%.  Long-term debt financing will be restricted to specific project types: o Increased/new services to residents for new initiatives o New, non-recurring infrastructure requirements o Projects which are supported by a business plan that shows revenues will cover capital and interest costs o Projects where the cost of deferring expenditures exceeds debt servicing costs o Project costs not recovered from Development Charges o Projects tied to third party matching funding (Note: These restrictions may have to be phased in to meet short-term budget challenges.)  The length of the term of debt will not exceed the useful life of the underlying asset.  The Township will monitor and report on all forms of debt annually. STRATEGY 4: USE OF GRANTS It is well established that the condition of Canada's municipal infrastructure is one of the keys to underpinning, maintaining and enhancing Canada's economic productivity and competitiveness. It is therefore clearly in the national and provincial interests for the federal and provincial government to institute permanent and sustainable infrastructure funding. Along with the strategic use of debt, the Township can also apply for the grants available from the Provincial and Federal governments. Some significant components of the infrastructure deficit can be dealt with through close monitoring of grant programs and a careful expression of interest to access these funds. FEDERAL GOVERNMENT INVESTING IN CANADA Across the country, people and communities are in need. The middle class and those working hard to join it need the opportunities that come with good, well-paying jobs, and communities need help to maintain, improve and expand the things that make Canada's towns and cities great places to live. Investing in Canada's infrastructure builds strong communities and helps to strengthen and grow the middle class, setting the stage for sustained economic growth in the future. In Budget 2016, the government made a down payment on future growth by making immediate investments of $11.9 billion in public transit, green infrastructure and social infrastructure. This 2016 Fall Economic Statement strengthens the government's commitment to long-term growth for the middle class. It proposes an additional investment of $81 billion over 11 years, starting in 2017- 18, in public transit, green infrastructure, social infrastructure, transportation that supports trade, Canada's rural and northern communities, and smart cities. The government will also establish a Infrastructure Solutions Inc. Private and Confidential 37 | P a g e new Canada Infrastructure Bank to provide innovative financing for infrastructure projects, and help more projects get built in Canada, where public capital can be leveraged. Taking into account existing infrastructure programs, new investments made in Budget 2016 and the additional investments contained in this Fall Economic Statement, the government will make a total investment in Canada's communities of more than $180 billion. This commitment is unprecedented in Canadian history. ONTARIO PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT As announced in the 2016 Ontario Economic Outlook and Fiscal Review, the Province of Ontario plans to invest more than $160 billion over 12 years, starting in 2014-15. Figure 24: The Province's 12-year infrastructure plan by sector (%) Infrastructure Solutions Inc. Private and Confidential 38 | P a g e The infrastructure plan includes investments in Moving Ontario Forward for public transit, highways and other priority infrastructure projects. The infrastructure expenditures table below outlines all planned investments over 12 years, starting in 2014-15, and shows they touch all key sectors. Figure 25: 2016-17 Infrastructure Expenditures Table (Source: 2016 Ontario Economic Outlook and Fiscal Review) 11 RECOMMENDATIONS 11.1 SOTI RECOMMENDATIONS The SOTI/Capital Plan identifies a number of asset-specific recommendations. However, there are six recurring recommendations that should be addressed in future strategic asset management initiatives: 1. Develop, through more detailed analysis, a plan for allocating the additional funds to the operating and/or capital budgets, as required, in order to successfully develop, implement, and maintain an approved asset management plan; 2. Develop a policy and implement a strategy to reach long-term sustainable funding for each of the assets covered in this SOTI Report; 3. Implement a comprehensive budget structure along service delivery lines, so that service managers can adequately know what the true total cost of their service is (including asset management, operations, capital, and borrowing costs). 4. Review the selection and use of rehabilitation strategies on life-cycle costing and on a return-on-investment (ROI) basis. 5. Review operating and maintenance practices, balancing least life-cycle cost against level of service and risk exposure, on a business-case basis using InfraGuide Best Practices and other industry sources; 6. Provide regular updates to the SOTI Report Card and Analysis Infrastructure Solutions Inc. Private and Confidential 39 | P a g e 11.2 CAPITAL PLAN RECOMMENDATIONS 1. Asset condition assessment of capital assets should be considered wherever feasible. The application of a standard life expectancy of an asset reflects a financial approach (PSAB 3150). Age-based condition assessment has the least level of confidence for building a capital plan. 2. The Township of Athens could consider releasing a policy defining its strategy and intention as it pertains to the infrastructure deficit, including communications to the general public. 3. The Township needs to build a definitive policy with respect to it's infrastructure deficit. 4. The Township should proactively define organizational responsibilities to maintain the asset inventory including proposed and actual project cost information, updating the data as assets are acquired or betterments are added to existing assets and projects are started and completed. In this manner, the accuracy of future Capital Plans will increase over time. 5. The Township should consider establishing as policy the following guiding principles, that it be: a) Customer Focused: To have clearly defined Levels of Service and applying asset management practices to maintain the confidence of residents in how the Township of Athens assets are managed. b) Forward Looking: To make the appropriate decisions and provisions to better enable its assets to meet future challenges, including changing demographics and populations, customer expectations, legislative requirements, technological and environmental factors. c) Service Focused: To consider all the assets in a service context and taking into account their interrelationships as opposed to optimizing individual assets in isolation. d) Risk-based: To manage the asset risk associated with attaining the agreed levels of service by focusing resources, expenditures, and priorities based upon risk assessments and the corresponding cost/benefit recognizing that public safety is the priority. e) Value-Based/Affordable: To choose practices, interventions, and operations that aim at reducing the life cycle cost of asset ownership, while satisfying agreed levels of service. Decisions are based on balancing service levels, risks, and costs. f) Holistic: To take a comprehensive approach that looks at the "big picture" and considers the combined impact of managing all aspects of the asset life cycle. g) Systematic: To adopt a formal, consistent, repeatable approach to the management of its assets that will ensure services are provided in the most effective manner. h) Innovative: To continually improve its asset management approach, by driving innovation in the development of tools, practices, and solutions. 6. To meet the goals and objectives of this policy, senior management could consider: a) The creation and maintenance of a Comprehensive Asset Management (CAM) governance structure to lead the development of AM tools and practices and to oversee their application across the organization. b) Adopt a Comprehensive Asset Management Strategy (AMS) to: - Establish, document and continually adhere to industry recognized asset management protocols; Infrastructure Solutions Inc. Private and Confidential 40 | P a g e - Develop asset management knowledge and competencies aligned with recognized competency frameworks; - Entrench lifecycle costing when evaluating competing asset investment needs across the Township assets; - Monitor the performance of the assets and track the effectiveness of AM practices with a view to continuous improvement; 11.3 LEVEL OF SERVICE RECOMMENDATIONS 1. We recommend that the Township incorporate a Level of Service analysis prior to resolving the infrastructure deficit in order to maximize the impact of their capital investments with the objective to: - Refine levels of service that balance customer expectations with risk, affordability and timing constraints as it pertains to the Township's unique requirements; - Adopt risk-based decision-making processes that consider the likelihood of asset failure and the consequence of a failure with regards to impacts on safety and levels of service; 2. To assist in better establishing Levels of Service, the Township should consider collecting technical performance measures required to provide information on: - the types of failure - the number of customers affected - the duration of the failure - the severity of the failure 3. To support decision-making for effective management of the assets, the Township should consider technical performance measurement and monitoring, undertaken by the Township such as: - Assessing the effectiveness of the operational, maintenance and capital works program - Review and refinement of maintenance and rehabilitation strategies and standards - Assistance in strategic decision-making through definition of remaining life, based on the measure being assessed 11.4 FINANCIAL STRATEGY RECOMMENDATIONS A financial strategy to support the asset management plan is a dynamic document that should be updated and re-evaluated on an ongoing basis. The Township should give due consideration to the following points: 1. The Township has insufficient funds from existing sources to proactively manage its infrastructure and will need to prioritize its requirements to maximizing the impact of existing financial resources. 2. The Township has a growing infrastructure deficit which is moderate considering its population and tax base. A special infrastructure levy will help the Township to reduce the gap over time and should be taken into consideration. 3. In the event that the Township implements an infrastructure levy, a percentage of the additional funds should be transferred into a reserve so that the Township has some flexibility to prioritize and sustain future infrastructure and service level requirements. 4. The Township needs to be proactive in reviewing and capitalizing on the upcoming Provincial and Federal programs. 5. The Township needs to embrace the principles of Asset Management to formulate Infrastructure Solutions Inc. Private and Confidential 41 | P a g e assumptions, projections, and strategies going forward. The Plan should be modified on an ongoing basis, taking into account changes in the municipal environment. 6. The Township should track and build awareness of the results of its projections on current operating and capital spending and funding levels with the objective of fine- tuning the forecasting process. 7. The Township should continue the analysis and examination of key financial goals and strategies that guide future priorities and expenditures. 12 CONCLUSION As a general comment, the Township of Athens is hampered by limited revenue and extensive infrastructure. ISI worked with staff who were knowledgeable and committed. The information we received was, by in large, accurate and well organized. The overall state of the linear infrastructure at the Township is in line with the vast majority of municipalities in this Province. As highlighted in the Report Card, the current state of the linear infrastructure, based on available condition rating and age analysis, presents a picture of the Township's linear assets to be in need of substantial work and the Township should continue to be proactive in their strategies, so as to extend asset useful life and avoid major rehabilitation/reconstruction or replacement costs. It is highly recommended that the Township of Athens embrace the principles of Asset Management. Managing existing infrastructure, doing the right thing, at the right time, involves knowing and actually doing the most cost-effective maintenance, repair, rehabilitation or replacement activity at the right time throughout the entire lifecycle of the asset. Beyond cost savings, assets need to be viewed in terms of their ability to enhance quality, function, capacity and safety of the service being provided. The process of implementing Asset Management is rife with challenge. It requires clear direction from Council. It requires significant cross-departmental cooperation. It requires the allocating of time, energy, and resource to assume new responsibilities. It requires consultation with the community. It requires working with constrained budgets to balance priorities. Because infrastructure management deals with assets that have long lifespans, it may take years before a substantial financial return on investment (ROI) becomes apparent. Still, managing existing, capital intensive, public sector infrastructure asset could provide very significant benefits (i.e. 20 - 40% reductions in life cycle costs). Finally, the Township will likely be faced with difficult decisions over the next years, and the infrastructure deficit will continue to widen without corrective action. The Council should put together a public communication program to engage the community in discussing the true cost of services and the assets required to provide those services. Community and stakeholder buy-in for an implementable asset management plan and service levels in line with public expectations and willingness to pay are critical to the success of the program. Infrastructure Solutions Inc. Private and Confidential 42 | P a g e APPENDIX A - DETAILED LIST OF CAPITAL PROJECTS Click on the Dropbox hyperlink below for a detailed list of your Capital Projects over the next 10 years: Click here to view Infrastructure Solutions Inc. Private and Confidential 43 | P a g e APPENDIX B - ASSET USEFUL LIFE Departments Assets Useful Life as per CIP (Years) Source Transportation Network Gravel (Recurrent Resurfacing) ISI Infrastructure Dirt (Recurrent Resurfacing) ISI Infrastructure Hot Mix Asphalt 50 ISI Infrastructure Sidewalk 40 ISI Infrastructure Bridge Bridge 50 ISI Infrastructure Culvert Culvert 50 ISI Infrastructure Facility Buildings 75 As per the TCA Policy Historical 150 Fleet Vehicles Varies As per the TCA Policy Equipment Heavy Equipment Varies As per the TCA Policy IT Equipment 5 As per the TCA Policy Recreation Playground 20 As per the TCA Policy Rating Category % Remaining Service Life (RSL) Definition Good 61% - 100% The infrastructure in the system or network is generally in good condition, typically new or recently rehabilitated. A few elements show general signs of deterioration that require attention Fair 41% -60% The infrastructure in the system or network shows general signs of deterioration and requires attention with some elements exhibiting significant deficiencies Poor < 40% The infrastructure in the system or network is in poor condition and mostly below standard, with elements approaching the end of their service life. A large portion of the system exhibits significant deterioration Infrastructure Solutions Inc. Private and Confidential 44 | P a g e APPENDIX C - MUNICIPAL COST INDEX Notes: - Municipal Cost Index, is calculated to better represent the municipal purchasing power and cost experience, so ISI will use 2.5% as the compounding/inflationary factor up until 2016 - Municipal Cost Index represents the basket of goods and services which is consumed/used by Municipalities and represents the operational/working capital needs on an on-going basis - Assigned weights represent the percentage of services/goods consumed out of total spend - Inflators represent the year on year changes in the components - Component's weight and inflators, sum all represents the overall cost experience for the Municipalities/region as compared to CPI - MCI is created as to minimize the variation/deviations of cost/purchasing experience in the region - The sources of Municipal Cost Index are the Financial Statements for your specific region - Outliers have been removed from the data for Municipal Cost Index calculation to average out/standardized data 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 Wages and Salaries and Benefits 31% 12% 7% 1% -2% Interest on Long Term Debt 1% 21% 59% -11% 15% Materials 32% -10% 24% Contracted Services 21% 12% -4% 37% Rents and Financial Expenses 0% -1587% -16% -104% External Transfers 4% 29% 13% 66% -143% Amortization 11% 0% Average MCI 2.5% MCI(Region 7) COMPONENTS Weights Inflators for Each Component