Asset management

On this page:

1. City of Kitchener Corporate Asset Management (CAM) Policy
2. State of the Infrastructure
3. Forecasts and the Funding Gap
4. Managing the Risks
5. Continuous Improvement
6. Relevant Legislation: Ontario Regulation 588/17

City of Kitchener Corporate Asset Management (CAM) Policy

Kitchener’s approach to corporate asset management helps ensure the City of Kitchener is allocating enough funding to sustain its infrastructure (aka assets) over the long-term to meet its service-level expectations. Kitchener’s work in this area is guided by the Corporate Asset Management (CAM) Policy which outlines guiding principles, objectives and roles & responsibilities regarding asset management practices at the City of Kitchener.

The CAM Policy integrates with other important high-level City documents like the Strategic Plan, which articulates the community’s shared vision for Kitchener, and more focused documents like specific asset master plans which outline the goals and objectives for different assets.

State of the Infrastructure

The Corporate Asset Management Plan covers the assets that provide City services, how the services are provided, and what funds are required over a 10-year planning period. The current replacement value of assets by service area are summarized in the table below.

Asset condition helps staff understand how capable City assets are at delivering services. Condition scores are estimated through inspection programs, staff inspections, building condition assessments, or based on age. Overall, 83% of City of Kitchener assets are in fair, good or very good condition.

Most services areas have assets that are primarily in fair, good or very good condition. The main exception is Facilities. Nearly 50% of facilities assets are in poor or very poor condition. Assets in poor or very poor condition deliver services safely but require more upkeep, have a lot of wear and tear and are approaching the end of their service life.

Forecasts and the Funding Gap

Forecasted lifecycle costs are the cost that are needed to continue providing services our assets support. The forecasted lifecycle costs between 2025 and 2034 are summarized below.

Like many North American cities, the City of Kitchener has postwar assets that are nearing end of life and will require additional funding to continue operation or need to be replaced. These costs create a funding gap. The City of Kitchener identified funding gaps in the Gas Utility and Facilities.

For services where there is enough funding, the City of Kitchener’s assets are expected to remain in similar overall conditions over the next 10 years. This means that while, the condition of individual assets will continue to decrease due to wear and age, the whole portfolio will have roughly the same breakdown of very poor assets in 2034 as there are today.

Managing the Risks

As part of the Corporate Asset Management Plan, a high level service delivery risk assessment was completed according to the City of Kitchener Corporate Risk Management Policy. Through this process, risk scores were calculated, and a risk exposure map was developed for all City assets. The risk map and risk exposure are summarized below.

In order to manage risks to our assets and service delivery, City of Kitchener staff will continue to:

• Prioritize projects based on asset criticality
• Identify new funding opportunities through provincial and federal programs
• Explore partnerships or corporate sponsorships
• Continue additional investment in Facilities identified through 2019 Long-term Financial Plan
• Assess gas rates and plan for a green energy transition

Continuous Improvement

The City of Kitchener is committed to growing and getting better with regards to it’s asset management practices. Staff have identified the following areas for improvement including:

• Implementing more robust data collection, inspection, and maintenance programs
• Developing a comprehensive method of forecasting asset portfolio growth
• Documenting ownership and stewardship of all assets
• Aligning levels of service with all long-term strategy documents
• Standardizing the approach to risk management across all service areas
• Improving documentation of asset maintenance history and costs

Relevant Legislation: Ontario Regulation 588/17

Ontario Regulation 588/17 - Asset Management Planning for Municipal Infrastructure guides the requirements for municipal Asset Management Policies and Asset Management Plans. The City of Kitchener’s Corporate Asset Management Plan provides a comprehensive asset management plan for all our assets.

City of Kitchener has met all legislated deadlines from Regulation 588/17. Failure to meet a deadline might risk the City’s ability to access provincial or federal grant funding.