ASSET MANAGEMENT FOR SUSTAINABLE SERVICE DELIVERY IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: “We know that having good succession plans in place is paramount to keeping the knowledge moving through the organization as key people leave. This is just one piece of the much greater puzzle,” stated Khalie Genereaux, Deputy Director of Finance with the City of Terrace, in an article written for the Asset Management BC Newsletter (July 2022)
NOTE TO READER:
The Sumer 2022 issue of the Asset Management BC Newsletter includes an article by Khalie Genereaux, Deputy Director of Finance, City of Terrace.
City of Terrace and its Asset Management Journey
“My Asset Management journey with the City of Terrace started two years ago, when I was hired on as the Deputy Director of Finance. During my time here, I have discovered that the City has numerous qualified staff that make asset management decisions all the time and, through time, have built their knowledge and skills to make informed decisions on the City’s assets. They do it without even realizing they are doing it; it is imbedded into their train of thought and daily procedures,” stated Khalie Genereaux.
“But what happens with these staff leave due to other opportunities, retirement, etc.? The knowledge leaves with them. This is a major dilemma that the City of Terrace is currently in and has opened our eyes to having good practices in place to ensure that our assets remain in good working order for generations to come and is not fully dependent on the current staff that manage them.”
“Small municipalities, such as Terrace, have limited resources to be able to take on something like Asset Management wholeheartedly and with focus. For most of us it is a corner of the desk project that we get to when we have time. We are now trying to change that, bit by bit.”
“Although our level of human capital has not changed, our lens of how to view Asset Management has. The more we learn within the process and the results, it is no longer a matter of getting to it when we have time, but rather making the time to do it. Put simply, we cannot afford NOT to make this a priority.”
“We know that having good succession plans in place is paramount to keeping the knowledge moving through the organization as key people leave. This is just one piece of the much greater puzzle,” concluded Khalie Genereaux.
TO LEARN MORE:
To read the complete article by Khalie Genereaux, download a copy of Our Asset Management Journey and My Journey within that process.
