Ministry of Economic…

Ministry of Economic Development, Employment and Infrastructure
Infrastructure Policy Division, Inter-Governmental Policy Branch
Municipal Infrastructure Policy
Unit 900 Bay Street, Floor 5, Mowat Block
Toronto ON
M7A 1C2

24 July 2017

Attention:Joshua McCann, Senior Policy Analyst

Re: Proposed Asset Management Regulation under the Infrastructure for Jobs and Prosperity Act

I am writing this letter on behalf of the Regional Municipality of Waterloo concerning the proposed Asset Management Planning Regulation EBR 013-0551. We thank you for the opportunity to comment on the proposed regulation.

The Region of Waterloo commends the Ministry for being proactive in encouraging Ontario municipalities to develop comprehensive asset management programs and implement good business practices related to the sustainable management of infrastructure assets. We agree that evidence-based decision making and prioritization will help municipalities to meet the long-term needs and expectations of residents in the most affordable way. We also understand that some consistency between Municipal Asset Management Plans will create a common framework and help promote collaboration and benchmarking between municipalities.

The Region of Waterloo believes that it is important that there is alignment between Asset Management Plans and other related Municipal Plans. We believe that the Asset Management Plan should both inform and be driven by Municipal Strategic Plans, Financial Plans and Master Plans. However, we are concerned about the level of overlap between this proposed Regulation and other legislation, specifically the Development Charges Act, 1997 and its regulations. To avoid duplication between these regulations, the Region recommends that the Province provide a firm commitment that the asset management plan requirements set out in the Development Charges Act and Regulation will be removed once the provisions of this proposed regulation are phased in. Overlap and unnecessary duplication also appears to exist between the proposed regulation and the municipal budget process.

The introduction of such a broad based asset management regulation for municipalities raises the issue of long-term, predictable funding for municipal infrastructure. There is a clear disconnect between long-term asset management and renewal planning and the Federal and Provincial Governments’ emphasis on short-term, application-based infrastructure funding programs which have an “incrementality” requirement. Such programs require municipalities to consider projects which have not been planned for, or to change the timing of capital projects in order to access such funds. This is, in our view, entirely inconsistent with the principles behind such a regulation. The Region expects that the Province will, in the future, take a longer view and align the requirement for long-term asset planning (which we support) with infrastructure funding programs to help ensure that the right projects are completed at the right time, for the benefit of all taxpayers.

The Region of Waterloo shares the concerns of many Ontario municipalities that the proposed Asset Management Regulation is too prescriptive and that it should allow further flexibility for municipalities to develop a Plan and an implementation program that aligns with other concurrent plans and activities. For example, the proposed regulation describes a commitment to considering climate change adaptation, mitigation and disaster planning in the asset management planning. The Region of Waterloo has already approved a Corporate Energy Plan, Environmental Sustainability Strategy, Emergency Response Plan and many related plans and strategies. Including the information from those plans and strategies into the asset management plan would duplicate efforts and potentially cause confusion about the appropriate source of information.

The regulation proposes that the plan is “to be approved in writing by a licensed engineering practitioner representing the municipality, and the executive lead of the municipality prior to it being presented to the municipal council for approval”. It isn’t clear which engineering discipline would be required to provide this approval since asset management planning involves many engineering professionals who have experience with a wide number of asset types and the planning would also require the involvement of finance, human resources and information technology professionals. It is unlikely that one engineer would have sufficient experience to sign off on the full plan given the variety in asset types. In the Region of Waterloo’s Asset Management Governance model, there is a committee of senior technical and financial staff that review and endorse asset management-related plans and policies before they are presented to Council for consideration and approval. We recommend that rather than specifying an individual or position, each Municipality should describe its asset management governance structure and indicate how documents will be reviewed prior to Council approval.

We have some concern and would like further clarity about the “commitment to provide opportunities for municipal residents and other interested parties to provide input into asset management planning”. We believe that the appropriate time for this input is at the development stage of master plans, official plans, strategic plans and, to a lesser extent, through the annual budget process. Public input is already incorporated into those plans, which will in turn drive the desired service levels of the asset management plan. The timing of the development of those plans may not coincide with the timing of the asset management plan development described within this proposed regulation.

Finally, the Region also has some concern with the timeline proposed in the Regulation. The requirement to develop and adopt a strategic asset management policy by January 1, 2019 conflicts with the municipal election cycle. Outgoing councils could be reluctant to pass such a policy in the spring/summer of 2018 as the election approaches, and new councils will be sworn in on or about December 1, 2018 leaving little time for staff to present this complex information for a new council’s consideration. We suggest that the deadline to develop and adopt a strategic asset management policy be moved to January 1, 2020.

Regards,

Craig Dyer, Commissioner of Corporate Services and Chief Financial Officer Region of Waterloo

cc. The Honourable Bob Chiarelli, Minister of Infrastructure 8th Floor, Hearst Block, 900 Bay Street, Toronto, Ontario M7A 2E1

[Original Comment ID: 210330]