FAQs

An asset management plan (AMP) is a strategic document that states how a group of assets is to be managed over a period of time. The plan describes the characteristics and condition of infrastructure assets, the level of service expected from them, planned actions to ensure the assets are providing the expected level of service, and financing strategies to implement the planned actions.

An asset management plan helps to highlight what services are really important to the organization and to the community and what the organization is willing and able to pay for. The AMP communicates the requirements for the sustainable delivery of services through management of assets, compliance with regulatory requirements, and required funding to provide the appropriate levels of service.

Asset management planning offers numerous benefits that aim to ensure sustainable infrastructure management. These benefits include:

1. Strategic Resource Allocation: Provides the ability to show how, when, and why resources need to be committed by knowing the total investment required to maintain infrastructure assets at acceptable levels, supporting sound decision-making.

2. Informed Decision-Making: Enables decisions to be made between competing asset needs, ensuring that the priorities of each asset type are met. This reduces the amount of unplanned or high-priority maintenance/emergency activities that require a response before the next budgeting cycle.

3. Performance Monitoring: Facilitates monitoring the performance of assets over the long term to ensure an adequate level of service is maintained and provides the ability to measure progress in achieving performance targets.

4. Lifecycle Costing: Identifies the investment required to acquire, operate, maintain, renew, and dispose of an asset. Determining the cost of an asset’s lifecycle activities enhances financial planning and helps decision-makers select the most cost-effective options.

5. Comprehensive Funding Decisions: Allows funding decisions to be made with a view of the total cost to be incurred over the useful life of an asset, ensuring that financial planning is comprehensive and forward-looking.

By implementing asset management planning, the city of Owen Sound can strategically manage its infrastructure, optimize resource allocation, and ultimately work towards closing the funding gap.

As part of the Infrastructure for Jobs and Prosperity Act, 2015, the Ontario government introduced Ontario Regulation 588/17: Asset Management Planning for Municipal Infrastructure (O. Reg. 588/17). This regulation aims to regulate asset management planning for municipal infrastructure and encourage all municipalities to begin or continue their journey towards implementing strong asset management practices. O. Reg. 588/17 is separated into multiple phases as shown below. 

• Strategic AM Policy July 1, 2019 - Complete
• AM Plan for Core Assets July 1, 2022 - Complete
• AM Plan for All Other Assets July 1, 2024 - Complete
• Proposed LoS & Financial Strategy July 1, 2025  

In 2021 City Council approved Owen Sound’s Strategic Plan Refresh (2021- 2023). The 2021-2023 Strategic Plan Refresh built off the previous Strategic Plan, maintaining the same vision, mission, values, and pillars as they continue to resonate with the community and staff. The nine key priorities from the refreshed Strategic Plan were: Prosperous City, Green City, A City that Grows, A City that Moves, City Building, Collaborative City, Clear Direction, Safe City, and Service Excellence.

The City is currently developing a long-term Strategic Plan, named Vision 2050, and it is anticipated that this project will be completed in 2025. Asset Management will be considered in the development of the new Strategic Plan with the following considerations:

•  Asset management helps Council prioritize projects on a risk-assessed needs basis and allocate funding sources to meet those needs in a way that is financially sustainable. The timing of spending on maintenance and renewal is such that the City will maximize the benefit of its assets and their associated useful lives. Having the asset management plan as a reference will also assist Council in making decisions regarding economic development as it is a tool that can be used to visualize the future costs associated with new infrastructure ensuring that growth is sustainable and responsible. 
• Asset Management supports taking the needs of the community into consideration when determining service level goals and ensuring that assets are in place and functioning appropriately to provide the services essential in supporting Owen Sound’s vision of being “Where you want to live”. 
• Managing the current funding gap on existing assets and ensuring that financial resources are in place to support new growth infrastructure are the main objectives of the asset management plan. The City’s progress towards meeting this objective is a metric that will be used going forward to ensure that Council is following the strategic plan and the City is meeting its goals.