Asset Management

Introduction

What is Asset Management?

Asset management involves the balancing of costs, opportunities and risks against the desired performance of assets, to achieve the organizational objectives. 

At the City of Peterborough, we practice asset management in various ways:

• Budgeting for the end-of-life activities for our assets such as road re-construction, replacing old playground equipment, replacing underground sewer pipes, or replacing an old roof of a facility
• Operation and maintenance work at our facilities such as replacing filters and belts on HVAC equipment, minor equipment repairs, regular testing of back-up generators, implementing inspection and maintenance programs on fire and life safety equipment and elevators, and grass cutting
• Regular operating activities on our roads such as snow clearing, street sweeping and regular inspections to ensure our roads are safe to drive on
• Recognizing the importance of incorporating green infrastructure assets, including natural assets, into the City's Asset Management Plan. A Natural Asset Summary of Inventory Results and Implications report was developed in partnership with the Municipal Natural Assets Initiative (MNAI), which will assist in defining processes and methodologies for further identification of assets, ownership boundaries, service(s) provided, condition, valuation and risk management.

Asset management is about making the right decisions at the right time, and optimizing the delivery of value.

Regulatory Requirements

Recent provincial regulations have mandated municipalities to prepare a Strategic Asset Management Policy and Asset Management Plan which focuses on strengthening organizational cultures and ensuring that evidence-based planning is utilized to support the right investments at the right time.

The City of Peterborough adopted its Asset Management Policy and Procedure as the Strategic Asset Management Policy in 2018.  It outlines the purpose and our commitment towards better asset management planning practices.

What is an Asset Management Plan?

An Asset Management Plan outlines the activities required to manage assets over its entire lifecycle in a cost-effective manner.  An  Asset Management Plan typically includes the following elements: 

• Introduction
• State of Infrastructure
• Levels of Service
• Growth and Demand
• Lifecycle Management
• Risk
• Climate Change
• Financial Summary
• Plan Improvement

The City of Peterborough's Council approved Asset Management Plan promotes evidence-based decision making and considers strategies to extend the lifecycle of assets to deliver services while minimizing risk.

State of Infrastructure Report

The State of Infrastructure Report provides a high-level summary of the service areas included in the Asset Management Plan.  The results of the State of Infrastructure Report is based on the following elemental questions: 

Understanding Risk

The City uses a risk rating methodology to assign a risk score to each asset included in the Asset Management Plan.

The risk ratings are composed of two factors:

1. Asset condition
2. Consequence of failure 

The asset condition informs the likelihood that an asset will fail, and the consequence of failure informs the impact resulting from the failure.

In addition to the asset condition, other asset information, such as size and material, was considered when assigning a risk score where possible.

The consequence of failure of an asset is assessed on a five-point scale that evaluates the impacts on the following factors: 

• Environmental
• Life Safety
• Economical
• Legislative/Regulation
• Social
• Reputation

The City currently owns an estimated $788 million worth of high-risk assets.

Other News

Mapping the Dollars and Sense of Land Use Patterns

A discussion about financially sustainable approaches to land use planning.

With the numerous complex challenges facing municipalities – ranging from significant infrastructure investment backlogs to pervasive social issues to building resilience in the face of changing climate patterns – it is crucial that we are using evidence-based decision making when planning our collective future. Data-driven approaches can help us break the cycle of unproductive narratives that lock us in to the status quo that has created the problems we are now trying to solve.

Within the City of Peterborough, we are facing an almost $70M annual funding gap to maintain our existing infrastructure in a state of good repair and provide the infrastructure required to meet the needs of a growing community. Every year we fail to make those investments, that gap grows. There are only two ways out of this hole – more funding (e.g. higher taxes), or reduced levels of service – and neither one of those options is particularly desirable.

How did we get here?

What are the underlying causes of how we have ended up with such a backlog of required investment?

And more importantly, what can we do differently today that helps us start reversing this trend and places future generations of residents and business in a more economically sustainable position?

On April 12, 2023, the City of Peterborough hosted a panel discussion that explored land use concepts aimed at ensuring the efficient use of infrastructure and properly projecting costs over the lifetime of an asset, with a goal of alleviating funding shortfalls.

The keynote speaker, Cate Ryba, Chief Operating Officer and Planner with Urban3, has extensive experience with local government finance and policy, urban design and economic development. Cate is a founder of the Building Our City lecture series, which features national experts on urban design, planning, placemaking, transportation and other community development topics to explore the role of thoughtful design in building livable communities.

The expert panel discussions featured James Jorgensen, Senior Partner with GM BluePlan and Board Member of the Institute of Asset Management Canada, Rhonda Keenan, President and CEO of Peterborough & the Kawarthas Economic Development and Paul Bennett, President of Ashburnham Realty.

Watch the recorded panel discussion video to find out more.