Scott Luey: Embracing the advantages of asset management
While acknowledging that keeping up with provincial regulations can be a bit like hitting a moving target, Scott Luey is a proponent of doing just that when it comes to achieving the full benefits of the rules around asset management planning.
Luey, City of Port Colborne CAO, was invited to share his community’s experience with asset management during the Ontario Municipal Administrators’ Association 2019 Spring Workshop in Niagara-on-the-Lake. He also sat down with Municipal World CEO Susan Gardner to talk abut how Port Colborne embraced the new rules.
“I think we had an experience replicated all across Ontario and beyond where people were blaming sort of the regulators who made the rule,” he said. “People didn’t like the rule; particularly, internal disputes at cities and towns where one department thought another department was ‘doing it’ to them. But ultimately, we had to get everybody on board and move forward with an across the city plan, an asset management structure.”
Explaining the Benefits of Asset Management
For many civic departments, as Luey explains in the video, asset management was something brand new. In many cases, they didn’t see the benefit. In Port Colborne, Luey said considerable effort was put into explaining the benefits. And not only the accounting benefits, but also that there is a capital planning benefit, a life-cycle benefit, as well.
Perhaps the most significant impact, he added, came from an inventory perspective. In this instance, it was simply knowing what the municipality owned and where it was located.
“We relied on long-serving employees for most of our background knowledge. People who remembered when a road was constructed, when a new building was bought or built. Documentation was weak,” Luey said. “I think that was an experience a lot of cities and towns had. It was a chance for us to take pause and say there is a better way of doing this going forward.”
Changing the Community Mindset around Priorities
For nearly a decade, Luey said the path forward was driven almost entirely by good communication. Whether it was internally among staff, between staff and council, or the municipality and the public, driving home the advantages of asset management was something that took time.
It also necessitated a change in mindset. After all, Luey said the adage around greasing the squeaky wheel needed to be addressed.
“We all I think sometimes run the risk of giving grease to squeaky wheels. If people complain loud enough or long enough, they will get a council member to support the complaint or support the request,” he said. “This has given us a chance, a tool really, to say to the council member, I know you are hearing one side of the story but look at what the data shows. That’s important.” MW
✯ Municipal World Insider and Executive Members: You might also be interested in the article: Strategic asset management policies. Note that you can now access the complete collection of past articles (and more) from your membership dashboard.
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