Developing an Asset Management Policy

An asset management policy outlines the principles and framework for developing an asset management plan. It is a statement of the community’s expectations through council on how assets will be managed to deliver services. Some of the key guiding principles that can be included in the policy are:

• Strategic alignment with Council objectives
• Understanding the interdependency of assets and services to minimize redundancy
• Integration with budgeting and financial planning
• Incorporating whole lifecycle costing to evaluate fiscal impact of investment decisions
• Meeting compliance requirements to access provincial and federal funding streams
• Consistency with federal and provincial objectives, and climate change resilience, mitigation; and adaptation efforts

Once approved, your asset management policy will apply to all departments in your municipality that manage assets providing infrastructure-related services. Your policy should specify a governance structure listing roles and responsibilities according to the size of your municipality to ensure effective coordination and collaboration between staff.

The Township of Loyalist, for example, has a comprehensive governance structure in its policy to illustrate all staff responsible for delivering infrastructure services understand their role in the achievement of asset management goals.

The Municipality of Central Elgin, for example, has been nurturing an asset management culture by adopting a policy that defines roles and responsibilities of its Staff and Council: