The City of Burlington’s $6.3 billion in infrastructure assets support a range of municipal services that enable residents, businesses and other Burlington stakeholders to live, work and play in our city. The City is undergoing a significant shift with demographic and economic changes. As this change happens, planned investments will be made into existing infrastructure along with the City readily preparing for future infrastructure growth.
The 2021 Asset Management Plan (AMP) was updated from the 2016 AMP and was developed in alignment with the City’s strategic plan to include the City’s Vision, Values and Key Strategic Objectives. It included plans for the infrastructure that are key to the wellbeing and livability of the community. The 2021 AMP included core and all other asset types and was designed to be compliant with the July 1, 2022, and 2024 requirements of Ontario Regulation 588/17 – Asset Management Planning for Municipal Infrastructure (O.Reg 588/17).
In 2023, the City completed an Asset Management Financing Plan update, which reassessed the replacement values within the 2021 AMP and recommended to increase the dedicated infrastructure levy to 2% for the 2024 budget as a commitment to the long-term infrastructure renewal program. At the time of the report, the City’s asset portfolio was updated to have a replacement value of $6.3 Billion.
View the City's 2023 Asset Management Financial Plan
Work is now underway by the City to complete a comprehensive update to the Asset Management Plan with an expected completion for 2025 that will be compliant with the 2025 requirements under O.Reg 588/17. Asset inventory, condition, and replacement values will be updated along with current, and target Levels of Service, with a recommendation of a financing strategy in the updated plan.
Once completed and approved by Council, the 2025 AMP will be made publicly available on this webpage.
Asset Management Policy
The Corporate Asset Management Policy was developed by the City's Asset Planning Group and was approved by Council in 2018. This policy outlines the principles and requirements for implementing consistent asset management processes. It applies to all areas of the City that manage physical capital assets or asset systems. And, it ensures the continuing development of the City's asset management program.
Strategic Asset Management Policy [PDF]
The City’s infrastructure assets include:
View an accessible PDF of the 2021 Asset Management Plan
- 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, snow plows and buses)
- Equipment such as playgrounds, lawn mowers, electric vehicle charging stations, and firefighting equipment
- Information technology services
Did you know?
The City of Burlington owns and maintains:
- Nearly 900 km of storm sewer pipes
- 1600 km of roads
- 211 intersections with traffic lights signalized intersections
- 799 bus stops and shelters
- 30 Stormwater management ponds
- 113 sports fields
- 18,000 catch basins
- 63 conventional buses
- 14 specialized buses
Comprehensive asset management planning helps us to understand the overall health and needs of these valuable assets and make informed decisions for the future.
Our approach to asset management minimizes risk, is sustainable and makes financial sense for our residents and business owners.
Managing an Asset’s Life Cycle
Our Asset Management Plan answers key questions about each City asset:
- What do we own?
- How much is it worth?
- What condition is it in?
- What work do we need to do to restore it?
- When do we need to restore it?
- How much will it cost to restore it?
- What happens to service delivery if we do not restore it?
- To develop the Asset Management Plan, we use current asset inventory, condition and replacement value information. This plan is a living document that is updated by staff on an ongoing basis.
State of Infrastructure
The State of Infrastructure assesses and quantifies the assets in terms of overall condition, replacement value and estimated remaining service life. At the time of the publication of the 2021 AMP, the City’s current infrastructure had an estimated replacement value of $5.2 billion, with the distribution of asset conditions shown in the table below.
| State | % of Total Replacement Value | Replacement Value |
|---|---|---|
|
Very Good |
21% |
$1,095,700,000 |
|
Good |
32% |
$1,651,200,000 |
|
Fair |
25% |
$1,273,700,000 |
|
Poor |
16% |
$844,800,000 |
|
Very Poor |
6% |
$299,000,000 |
Levels of Service
Levels of Service (LOS) is a key part of asset management decision making that describes the planned outcome from the asset, from a customer and/or technical performance perspective. LOS statements describe the different types of outcomes or qualities of the service that the asset delivers, such as availability, cost-effectiveness, reliability, responsiveness, safety, suitability and sustainability. LOS measures for each service area are set through discussions with City staff or are mandated through Ontario Regulation 588/17.
| July 1, 2019 | An AM policy must be established. The policy should provide detailed principles and commitments to be used for decision making; regarding when, why and how money will be spent on infrastructure systems. |
| July 1, 2022 | An AMP that defines current levels of service and the associated costs to sustain them for what is considered 'core' asset systems per O.Reg. 588/17 (water, wastewater, stormwater, road and bridges infrastructure systems). |
| July 1, 2024 | An AMP that documents the current levels of service being provided and the costs to sustain the current levels of service for all asset groups. |
| July 1, 2025 | An AMP must be produced that documents all current levels of service being provided, he costs to sustain the current level of service, the desired levels of service, the costs to achieve the desired levels of service and the financial strategy to fund the necessary expenditures to achieve the desired levels of service for all infrastructure systems in the City. |
Asset Lifecycle Management Strategy
The asset lifecycle management strategy is a set of planned lifecycle-based actions that the City of Burlington uses to manage its infrastructure to meet service levels. As assets near the end of their lifecycles, a plan is created to replace, decommission or upgrade the assets to meet future demand. Additionally, the City is implementing a Decision Support System (DSS) tool that uses lifecycle models and budget scenarios to provide insight on managing assets at their lowest lifecycle cost. This tool can be used to understand how different funding strategies can impact the LOS by demonstrating how lifecycle management activities may be delayed if funding is unavailable. Risk management is also built into these models by applying risk scores to assets and prioritizing the completion of work for high-risk assets over low-risk assets.
This tool will also be integrated with our Enterprise Asset Management Solution (EAMS), which is currently in development and will be implemented over multiple phases. It will track and improve operation and maintenance of our assets so that we are using our maintenance resources effectively, increasing productivity, improving our service performance and sustainability, and reducing risk and costs.
The City of Burlington bases its asset management system on the ISO 55001 International Standard and the Institute of Asset Management.
Why Invest in Asset Management?
View the below video from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM)s about why municipalities should invest in asset management.
Asset Management: Planning
With asset management planning, our City staff coordinate to make the best possible decisions on infrastructure acquisition, construction, operation, maintenance, renewal, replacement, expansion and disposal.
At the same time, planning minimizes risk, helps to manage costs and maximizes service delivery options.
The City takes a Life Cycle Cost Analysis approach to managing assets to ensure we understand the true cost of owning and operating our assets.
Life-cycle cost analysis (LCCA) is a tool to determine the most cost-effective option among different competing alternatives to purchase, own, operate, maintain and, finally, dispose of an object or process, when each is equally appropriate to be implemented on technical grounds. The City of Burlington bases its asset management system on the ISO 55001 International Standard and The Institute of Asset Management.
Asset Management: Financing
The Asset Management Financing strategy is prepared and coordinated with the goal of maximizing value of service and addressing the right balance of sustainable funding and tax rate increases. This spreads the cost equally to existing and future taxpayers who are contributing to the long-term management of the City’s assets. The financing plan is an investment in the City’s assets and is a commitment to the quality of service the asset is delivering to residents. As we make decisions around future infrastructure planning, we continue to keep in an eye on the long-term nature of the asset and its costs. Over time, infrastructure challenges will continue as the asset inventory grows faster than the funding available. Council’s commitment to the financial strategy reaffirms principles of predictability and stability, ultimately setting the City up to successfully achieve sustainability over the long-term.
The Asset Management Financing Plan outlines how the City plans to pay for assets detailed in the Asset Management Plan over their life cycle.
Updated 2023 Asset Management Financing Plan
The 2023 Asset Management Financing Plan was presented to City Council on May 23, 2023, at 9:30 a.m. at a meeting of the Corporate Services, Strategy, Risk and Accountability Committee.
For more information about asset management planning at the City of Burlington, please email Asset Planning.
Continuous Improvement
The City has committed to continuous improvements to the AMP, including improvements to data collection, decision-making and strategic planning. This is done through regular reviews and comprehensive updates as well as other improvement initiatives through the Asset Management Business Service Plan. The aim is to strengthen asset management processes that meet and exceed legislated requirements in support of providing City services.
Our next steps will also include setting target Levels of Service, which will include public consultation and satisfaction surveys.
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