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CORPORATION OF THE TOWN OF RAINY RIVER
FINANCES DEPARTMENT
Strategic Asset
Management Policy
Policy No.
F-20
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1.0 Purpose:
A strategic asset management policy formalizes the Municipality's commitment to
asset management, aligns its asset management actions with strategic goals and
objectives, and provides direction to guide Council, management and staff in
carrying out its business strategies, plans and activities. This policy will support
the Municipality in focusing its infrastructure efforts on managing risks,
addressing priorities, and meeting short and long-term needs within the bounds
of possible funding.
2.0 Vision:
The Municipality's vision is to proactively manage its assets to best serve the
Municipality's objectives, including:
Prioritizing the need for existing and future assets to effectively deliver
services,
Supporting sustainability and economic development, and
Maintaining prudent financial planning and decision making.
3.0 Objectives
The objectives of this policy are to:
Provide a consistent framework for implementing asset management
throughout the organization.
Provide transparency and accountability and to demonstrate to
stakeholders the legitimacy of decision-making processes which combine
strategic plans, budgets, service levels and risks.
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4.0 Strategic Alignment:
Our vision to maintain a safe community with sustainable growth requires
alignment of the many initiatives underway in our organization at any given time
in order for it to be achieved. This alignment is necessary to properly consider
whether the level of service provided by our existing and planned assets is
congruent and supports our vision.
Asset management planning therefore will not occur in isolation from other
municipal goals, plans, and policies. Rather, an integrated approach will be
followed to successfully develop practical asset management plans that align
with the overarching accountabilities and aspirations of our community.
5.0 Stakeholder Engagement
The Municipality recognizes the importance of stakeholder engagement as an
integral component of a comprehensive asset management approach. The
municipality recognizes the residents, businesses, and institutions as stakeholders
and neighboring municipal bodies, provincial agencies, and regulated utilities
partners in service delivery. Accordingly, the Municipality will foster informed dialogue
with these parties using the best available information and engage with them by:
Providing opportunities for residents and other stakeholders served by the
municipality to provide input in asset management planning; and
Coordinating asset management planning with other infrastructure asset
owning agencies such as municipal bodies and regulated utilities.
6.0 Guiding Principles
The Infrastructure for Jobs and Prosperity Act, 2015 sets out principles to guide
asset management planning in municipalities in Ontario. The Town of Rainy
River will strive to incorporate the following principles whenever possible into the
day to day operation of the Municipality:
Forward looking: The Municipality shall take a long-term view while
considering demographic and economic trends in the region.
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Budgeting and planning: The Municipality shall take into account any
applicable budgets or fiscal plans, including those adopted through
Ontario legislation
Prioritizing: The Municipality shall clearly identify infrastructure priorities
which will drive investment decisions.
Economic development: The Municipality shall promote economic
competitiveness, productivity, job creation, and training opportunities.
Transparency: The Municipality shall be evidence-based and
transparent, basing decision on publicly shared information and make
information available to the public
Consistency: The Municipality shall ensure the continued provision of
core public services, such as health care and education.
Environmentally conscious: The Municipality shall minimize the impact
of infrastructure on the environment by: 1. Respecting and helping
maintain ecological and biological diversity, 2. Augmenting resilience to
the effects of climate change, and 3. Endeavoring to make use of
acceptable recycled aggregates.
Health and safety: The Municipality shall ensure that the health and
safety of workers involved in the construction and maintenance of
infrastructure assets is protected.
Community focused: The Municipality shall promote community benefits,
being the supplementary social and economic benefits arising from an
infrastructure project that are intended to improve the well-being of a
community affected by the project, such as: 1. Local job creation and
training opportunities (including for apprentices, within the meaning of
section 9 of the Infrastructure for Jobs and Prosperity Act, 2015), 2.
Improvement of public space within the community, and 3. Promoting
accessibility for persons with disabilities.
Innovation: The Municipality shall create opportunities to make use of
innovative technologies, services, and practices, particularly where doing
so would utilize technology, techniques, and practices developed in
Ontario.
Integration: The Municipality shall, where relevant and appropriate, be
mindful and considerate of the principles and content of non-binding
provincial or municipal plans and strategies established under an Act or
otherwise, in planning and making decisions surrounding the infrastructure
that supports them.
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7.0 Community Planning
Asset management planning will be aligned with the Municipality's Official Plan
and the 2014 Provincial Policy Statement of the Planning Act. The asset
management plans will reflect how the community is projected to change with
respect to development. The Municipality will achieve this by consulting with
those responsible for managing the services to analyze the future costs and
viability of projected changes. The combination of lifecycle analysis and financial
sustainability principles will be the driver in the selection of community
development or redevelopment that requires new assets, or existing asset
enhancements. Methods, assumptions, and data used in the selection of
projected changes should be documented to support the recommendations in the
Asset Management Plan.
Cross-referencing the Municipality's Official Plan and the Asset Management
Plan will ensure that development occurs within the Municipality`s means through
an understanding of current and future asset needs.
8.0 Climate Change
Climate change will be considered as part of the Municipality's risk management
approach embedded in local asset management planning methods. This approach
will balance the potential cost of vulnerabilities to climate change impact and other
risks with the cost of reducing these vulnerabilities. Bolstering resilience to climate
change includes adapting to opportunities to manage vulnerabilities, anticipating
possible costs to support contingency funds, and disaster planning to allow for
business continuity. These actions will be taken in addition to acquiring or modifying
assets based on greenhouse gas reduction targets.
9.0 Scope and Capitalization Thresholds
This policy applies to all assets owned by the Municipality whose role in service
delivery requires deliberate management by the Municipality. The Municipality will
use a service-based (qualitative) perspective when applying this policy to municipal
assets, rather than a monetary value (quantitative). The service-focus intent of this
policy differentiates its requirements for identifying assets from the capitalization
thresholds that are developed for the purposes of financial reporting. For this reason,
the capitalization threshold developed for financial reporting will not be the guide in
selecting the assets covered by the asset management planning process.
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10.0 Financial Planning and Budgeting
The Municipality will integrate asset management planning into the annual capital
budget, operating budget, and its long-term financial plan. The asset
management plan will be used as a resource in order to:
Identify all potential revenues and costs (including operating,
maintenance, replacement and decommissioning) associated with
forthcoming infrastructure asset decisions;
Evaluate the validity and need of each significant new capital asset,
including considering the impact on future operating costs; and
Incorporate new revenue tools and alternative funding strategies where
possible.
The department level budget submission prepared by each Senior Manager will
be reviewed and evaluated by the CAO in the preparation of the Municipality`s
annual budget. Service area personnel will reference the asset management
plan for their area in order to look up forecasted spending needs identified in the
plan, verify progress made on the plan to identify potential gaps, and prioritize
spending needs, across the gap identified in the plan and recent developments,
for the year to be budgeted for. Finance staff will be involved in the asset
management planning process to coordinate the information from the service
personnel in the preparation of the budget submission.
For the purposes of managing water and wastewater assets, the water and
wastewater financial plans will be used as a basis for establishing user fees, and
master plans will be referenced in order to ensure alignment with the budgeting
process.
11.0 Governance and Continuous Improvement
The policy requires the commitment of key stakeholders within the Municipality's
organization to ensure the policy guides the development of a clear plan that can be
implemented, reviewed and updated.
Council is entrusted with the responsibility of overseeing, on behalf of citizens, a large
range of services provided through a diverse portfolio of assets. Council, having
stewardship responsibility, is the final decision maker on all matters related to asset
management in the Municipality. The Council and senior management are committed
to the success of asset management planning. The following details the
responsibilities of the key stakeholders within the Municipality:
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Council:
Approve by resolution the asset management plan and its updates every five
years;
Conduct annual reviews of the management plan implementation progress on
or before July 1st of every year, that includes:
o Progress on ongoing efforts to implement the asset management plans;
o Consideration of the Strategic Asset Management Policy;
o Any factors affecting the ability of the Municipality to implement its asset
management plans;
o Consultation with senior management;
o A strategy to address these factors including the adoption of appropriate
practices; and
o Support ongoing efforts to continuously improve and implement the asset
management plans.
CAO:
Maintain compliance with the asset management policy and provincial asset
management regulations.
Senior Management (Pubic Works Foreman, Recreation Maintenance, Fire
Chief):
Oversee asset management planning activities that fall within their service
area and in support of others.
ADOPTION & REVIEW GUIDELINES
Approved by Motion #19-022 & By-law 1706-19 on February 11, 2019
Reviewed/Revised by Res.
Approximate date of next review ___________________
REFERENCES:
POLICY AREA
POLICY NUMBER
Finance
Section F-20
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