Resources To Help You Communicate Asset Management

“Never advance a solution to an issue prior to having public awareness of the issue, or the solution may become the issue” – Frank Leonard, Former Mayor, District of Saanich & Past President, Union of BC Municipalities

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Communication Resources to Build Awareness and Support

Help your elected officials, staff and community members understand and support the need to invest in maintaining, repairing and eventually replacing your assets so you can continue to provide quality, reliable services your community expects – and future generations depend on.

These resources and templates are free to use, repurpose and share. And stay tuned for more resources to come!

Videos

Why Invest in Asset Management? by FCM – a must view for your Council/Board, staff and community. Post on the homepage of your website and share on social media!

Critical Insights for Community Decision Makers by NAMSCanada and IPWEA – understanding the critical role infrastructure plays in our communities and the vital role elected officials and senior staff. Also identifies training opportunities through NAMSCanada.

Presentations

What will your legacy be? Asset Management for Elected Officials. Share this inspiring PowerPoint presentation and workbook with your elected officials and staff to deepen the conversation about why asset management matters now – and for future generations.

Why Communicate? Manage Expectations and Communicate Strategically with the Council and the Public (NWT Healthy Communities Toolkit and Christina Benty Strategic Solutions). A fun presentation with top ten tips for what to expect when you’re communicating.

Social Media Shareables

Use these shareable graphics to support any of your social media communications needs.

Posters

Use these Posters to support community engagement and outreach. Higher resolution available by request.

Key Messages & Materials

Use these key messages and help spread a common message in your community and across the province about why managing our assets is vital to maintain the services our community relies on. Use these in Council and Board reports, newsletters, online and on social media. Be sure to share your story on social media and use these and our hashtag #OurAssetsMatter to drive social discussions

Sustainable Service Survival: What’s your Legacy?

Communities build and maintain infrastructure to provide services such as water, roads, parks, and recreation. Sustainable services support our quality of life, protect health and safety, and promote social, environmental, and economic well-being. These are the services our citizens depend on – and expect. Infrastructure assets, both built and natural, only exist to support the delivery of these services.

Failure to care for your infrastructure risks degrading – or even losing – the services your community enjoys and future generations rely on.

That’s why your role as an elected official and local government professional is vital. The sustainability, indeed, the very survival, of the services you provide rely on the decisions you make today.

Good decisions, based on sound asset management practices, begin with the service in mind. This means finding the sweet spot that balances risks, costs, and services – and your community’s willingness to pay.

Asset Management BC is here to help you and your organization get started or boost your asset management practices.

Read on for some key messages and quick facts you can use in on your website, presentations and social media. Stay tuned for more as we learn more about how we can help you communicate about asset management for sustainable service delivery.

Your future generations will thank you for it.

“Local Governments too often take core infrastructure for granted until it breaks down. Without robust Asset Management practices, it is too easy for local governments to starve capital replenishment and bring in artificially low tax rates and user fees in order to balance budgets – the long-term consequences of this can be catastrophic. Sustainable service delivery is critical for the guarantee of future livability with our communities.” – Mike Little, Mayor, District of North Vancouver

What is Asset Management?

It’s a process – a journey of continuous improvement that involves everyone in local government.

Asset Management is the process of integrating people’s skills and actions with information about the community’s physical infrastructure assets and financial resources to ensure long term sustainable service delivery. Sound asset management practices support sustainable service delivery.

What is sustainable service delivery?

It’s how we provide services such as water, sewers, roads, parks and recreation to our community in a way that fosters its social, environmental and economic well-being. These are the services our residents and businesses expect and depend on – and future generations will rely on.

Delivering those services sustainably means:

  • Ensures that current community service needs are met
  • Supports service delivery that is socially, environmentally and economically responsible
  • Helps future generations meet their needs
  • Considers community priorities
  • Reflects the balance of trade-offs between available resources and desired Services

What are assets?

The built infrastructure and natural assets we use to provide services like clean drinking water, wastewaters management, fire protection, libraries, parks, recreation facilities  and much more.

Why does Asset Management Matter?

Sustainable service delivery

Ensure we continue to provide the quality services we rely on today and in the future.

Practical, evidence-based

Take the guess work out of decision-making and setting priorities based on what needs to be fixed or replaced and when.

Cost-effective

Make cost-effective and efficient decisions proactively instead of waiting until something breaks down and frantically finding a costly fix.

Supported

Engage citizens, staff, Councils and Boards in making decisions about what and when to repair and replace critical assets, and where to invest in the future. This includes community conversations about what level of services our citizens expect and the costs to provide them.

Your Duty

Fulfill your statutory responsibility to look after your community’s assets.

Infrastructure Grants

In BC, improving your asset management practices is a requirement in order to receive Gas Tax funding and improves access to other federal/provincial capital infrastructure grants.

Quick Facts

Providing Sustainable Services: What Will Your Legacy Be?

  • Local governments own, operate and maintain 60-65% of Canada’s core public infrastructure. Local government services are much more ‘infrastructure intensive’ – they rely more heavily on infrastructure to deliver services than other levels of government.
  • One-third of our municipal infrastructure needs attention.
  • Less than half of local governments say they will have enough revenue to fund reinvestment projects for the next five years.
  • The replacement value of BC’s local government assets is estimated at $200 billion (excluding land) and is growing at about 3% a year – faster than we can raise rates, fees and/or taxes to cover the cost of replacement.
  • The capital investment  in new infrastructure is, on average, about 20% of the total life-cycle cost – leaving the burden of continued operations, maintenance, replacement and decommissioning costs to  future generations.
  • Spending $1 on preventative road maintenance and regular repair during the first three quarters of a road’s estimated service life can eliminate or delay $6 to $10 in costs later on.
  • Only 54% of BC local governments have an asset management plan.
  • For every billion dollars invested in infrastructure in Canada, we grow the economy by $1.4 billion and generate up to 13,000 direct and indirect jobs.

Sources: Canada Infrastructure Report 2016; AGLG Asset Management Perspective Series; UBCM Status of Asset Management 2016; FCM-Federal Budget Submission

Asset Management BC Can Help

Asset Management BC (AMBC) is a community of practice that includes local governments, First Nations, professional associations and other interested stakeholders, drawn together by a common goal to enhance the well-being of our communities by sharing knowledge, best practices and case studies about what works – and what doesn’t.

Check out the Resources, with the made-for-BC Framework, guides and tools to help you get started or to boost your current practice

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