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At their regular meeting on Monday, December 10th, council voted to adopt the new Asset Management Policy and endorse the Asset Management Strategy.

“Over the past year, City staff has been laying the groundwork for the development of a system to manage our physical assets, such as roads, pipes, parks and more, in a way that meets the sustainability goals in the Imagine Lacombe Municipal Sustainability Plan and Council’s Strategic Plan,” said Mayor Grant Creasey. “Our community’s assets are publicly owned and are in place to provide residents with the services that they value and expect.”

Asset Management Policy

The Asset Management Policy articulates the City of Lacombe’s commitment to sustainability by proposing fundamental principles on which asset management decisions will be based. Following these principles will help the municipality put some rigour and structure around the information it uses to make strategic decisions.

An important theme that underpins the policy, and ultimately the City’s whole asset management system is that public assets exist to provide a service to the community. Roads are required for transportation services, parks are needed for recreation services, and pipes are required to provide potable water supply and wastewater collection services. This infrastructure is only valuable insofar as it can effectively deliver services to residents, visitors, and businesses.

Asset Management Strategy

The Asset Management Strategy looks at the underlying approach the City takes to manage information about its physical assets and identifies areas of improvement. It lists a number of improvement initiatives for completion over the next five years, starting with the development of a comprehensive implementation plan in early 2019.

“A static approach to asset management can lead to a significant economic impact to a growing community such as Lacombe, and would be a source of great frustration to residents,” said Director of Operations and Planning Jordan Thompson. “It can lead to inefficient spending and last minute decisions in reaction to growth and other changing conditions. Developing a management system that anticipates these changes will give Council the tools needed to ensure budgets are in place for future needs while maintaining an acceptable level of service.”

“It should be noted that an asset management program will take years to fully implement,” said Director Thompson. “This is the first major milestone in what will be an ongoing process of continuous improvement.”

For more information on the Asset Management Policy and the Asset Management Strategy, please refer to the December 10, 2018, Council meeting agenda: http://www.lacombe.ca/home/showdocument?id=11355.

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