Asset Management BC Newsletter (Fall 2015): “If used properly as an adjective, the phrase ‘Sustainable Service Delivery’ makes sense,” says David Allen, City of Courtenay CAO
Note to Reader:
Asset Management BC is a Champion Supporter of the Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia. Similarly, the Partnership is a supporter of Asset Management BC. The feature story below is extracted from the Fall 2015 issue of the Asset Management BC Newsletter. To download a copy of the latest issue (Fall 2015), click here.
The Champion Supporter designation allows the Partnership to formally recognize agencies and organizations that provide substantial financial and/or in-kind support that in turn enables the Partnership to develop tools and deliver programs under the umbrella of the Water Sustainability Action Plan for British Columbia. Asset Management BC has provided frequent opportunities for the Partnership to “tell the Action Plan story” in the Asset Management BC Newsletter.
CAO’s, Asset Management and the New Paradigm
“With time I came to realize how local government Asset Management is linked to and influences most everything we do. That is to say, I came to see the “New Paradigm” 
and where Asset Management practices fit within and bolster it,” wrote David Allen.
“My first ‘aha moment’ came when I realized that resolving the pesky ‘infrastructure deficit’ isn’t the aim because that term isn’t meaningful, it’s just a punchline. Our fundamental role is to deliver services, and our large collection of tangible capital assets exists only to deliver on that aim.”
Community Services Continuously Delivered in a Responsible Manner
“The next important thing was relearning that the word ‘sustainable’ is an adjective, not a noun. Since it is not a ‘person, place or thing’, how could we achieve that which we cannot see, hear, smell, touch, build, buy or steal?”
“Clarity came when I realized the foolishness of attempting to achieve a buzzword. However, if used properly as an adjective, the phrase ‘Sustainable Service Delivery’ makes sense: it is ‘a collection of practices that ensures current community services are continuously delivered in a socially, economically and environmentally responsible manner that does not compromise the ability of future generations to meet their own needs’.”
To Learn More:
To download a PDF copy and read the complete article in the Fall 2015 issue, click on Asset Management BC Newsletter – Issue No. 15 (September 2015)
