NEWS RELEASE TOWNSHIP OF CENTRE WELLINGTON
CENTRE WELLINGTON –The Township owns and manages a large range of assets on behalf of our community. Council approved the 2025 Asset Management Plan, a strategic document prepared by Township staff that provides a planned approach for managing and investing in the Township’s owned assets (i.e., roads, bridges/culverts, storm, water, wastewater, facilities, vehicles, equipment, land improvements, etc.). Recommendations provided in the report will assist in this evolution and will ensure the Township is constantly moving forward in its asset management maturity.
“We acknowledge our infrastructure challenges, and need to consider ongoing demand changes, Council’s goal is to ensure that both service delivery and levels of service are maintained and that we continue to make informed and strategic decisions to support our economy and our resident’s quality of life in a sustainable manner. This document positions the Township well to deliver on these goals.” said Mayor Watters. “Thank you to all staff involved in ensuring that the Township’s asset management planning processes will be integrated and aligned with Township goals, objectives, plans and processes.”
“Asset management planning is a journey that requires continuous improvement and updates.” Dan Wilson, Chief Administrative Officer. “I am incredibly proud of our team who developed and created the Township’s second staff prepared Asset Management Plan. Asset Management continues to play a role in almost everything we do in the future, therefore working these practices into existing corporate, departmental, and staff processes is not only efficient, but extremely effective.”
The Township maintains approximately $1.2 Billion in assets (2024 replacement value). Some assets are relatively new, or recently repaired, while other assets are approaching or have reached the end of their estimated useful life and require significant investment needs. The Township is faced with an aging and deteriorating asset base and have limited funding sources to rehabilitate or replace these assets. The Township must balance the maintenance needs of new assets with the more capital-intensive repair and rehabilitation needs of aging and deteriorating assets.
The Township’s infrastructure assets include:
- Roads, sidewalks, streetlights, parking
- Recreational facilities and buildings
- Stormwater infrastructure such as pipes, culverts, and stormwater management ponds
- Parks and living assets (urban forestry)
- Fleet vehicles (e.g., fire trucks and snowplows)
- Equipment such as playgrounds, lawn mowers, electric vehicle charging stations, and firefighting equipment; and
- Information technology hardware
Beyond the legislated requirement for asset management planning, the core catalysts for establishing Township-wide asset management planning practices include:
- Anticipated growth and the demand on assets/services
- The impacts of climate change
- The increasing costs associated with providing services to stakeholders, such as residents; and
- A challenging municipal funding model, and the need to increase asset investment
Asset management planning allows the Township to make informed asset investment decisions, prioritize asset investments, enhance financial performance, manage risk, progress organizational sustainability, and improve the overall efficiency and effectiveness of providing services.
Improved municipal asset management planning is a vital step in Ontario’s Municipal Infrastructure Strategy. Municipalities have been required to demonstrate a progressively greater commitment to asset management to request infrastructure funding and guide them in making appropriate infrastructure investment decisions now and into the future. Municipalities must have an updated Asset Management Plan in place by July 1, 2025, that encompasses all Township Assets and specifies target levels of service. An update to the Township’s Asset Management Plan is required, at a minimum, every 5 years. All financial based recommendations included in the plan are subject to approval during each budget process, starting with the 2026 Budget.
