ASSET MANAGEMENT FOR SUSTAINABLE SERVICE DELIVERY: “We have been living on an infrastructure holiday for 50 years – and it is all coming home to roost,” stated Bill Sims, freshly retired General Manager of Engineering and Public Works (City of Nanaimo)
Note to Reader:
Published by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia, Waterbucket eNews celebrates the leadership of individuals and organizations who are guided by the Living Water Smart vision. Stories are structured in three parts: One-Minute Takeaway, Editor’s Perspective, and the Story Behind the Story.
The edition published on May 5, 2026 two municipal asset management thought leaders: featured Bill Sims and Wally Wells. They have looked at the growing Municipal Infrastructure Gap with fresh eyes. And what they see is a slow-moving financial crisis. They point the way forward with a call for a course correction that tempers expectations for demands on municipal services.
ONE MINUTE TAKEAWAY for the extremely busy reader
“Lately I have been reminding folks that in the 1970s, Canada saw an infrastructure funding boom – everyone built arenas, pools, sewers and water systems on 25 cent dollars. We have been living on an infrastructure holiday for 50 years – and it is all coming home to roost,” states Bill Sims, freshly retired General Manager of Engineering and Public Works (City of Nanaimo)
Are you talking the right language to Councils?
“So, you tell Council that you have aging infrastructure. But the message does not resonate,” observes Wally Wells. “Are you talking the right language? The answer is no! That got me thinking. Where does the asset management process and plan fit into the big picture for councils?”
THE CONUNDRUM: When the public demands more and more services but is not willing to fund the costs
“The tax increases in local governments that some perceive as high aren’t even touching this funding gap,” continues Bill Sims. “Senior government funding has been shrinking since the 1990s, and the local property tax regime is woefully inadequate to meet the needs of the day.”
Local governments are falling further and further behind:
“The public continues to expect better and better service from local governments but are less and less willing to pay. What this means for the municipal infrastructure gap is that we are backsliding! Financially, this is a difficult and challenging place for local governments to be in.”
EDITOR’S PERSPECTIVE / CONTEXT FOR BUSY READER – by Kim Stephens
“In the story behind the story, Bill Sims and Wally Wells remind us of an important context. The 1960s and 1970s were the heydays of nation building projects. Federal investment to replace sub-standard sewer, water and road systems and to raise levels of service was massive and game changing,” stated Kim Stephens, Waterbucket eNews Editor and Partnership Executive Director.
Context for the growing Municipal Infrastructure Gap
“Two generations ago, 75% grants made the front-end costs of infrastructure programs deceptively affordable for local governments. A half-century later, the back-end costs for replacement of deteriorating infrastructure have come due.”
“The legacy from the past is playing out as unintended consequences for affordability in the contemporaneous context. The Municipal Infrastructure Gap is growing year-after-year and is a slow-moving crisis.”
“Those in the world of asset management know there is a problem. What Bill Sims and Wally Wells are saying, however, is that we are beyond the point of no return. The numbers tell a story. Local governments cannot catch up. This is a difficult and challenging situation to be in,” concludes Kim Stephens.
The situation calls for a course correction
“We have created a high level of service that we cannot possibly sustain,” states Bill Sims. “We need to get civics back on the menu. And we must give elected officials and senior staff the language and tools to temper expectations and shift the public’s understanding of the services they receive.”
STORY BEHIND THE STORY: Municipal Infrastructure Gap –
We are past the point where local governments can catch up (synthesis of a conversational interview with Bill Sims and Wally Wells)
EDITOR’S NOTE: The complete transcript of my interview with Bill Sims and Wally Walls is included in the downloadable document version of this story behind the story. The storyline is structured as three theme areas and what follows is a streamlined narrative.
The contextual background for our conversation was provided by a post on LinkedIn by Bill Sims in combination with a presentation by Mike Matejka to the Asset Management BC Community-of-Practice on March 12, 2026 about his Cranbrook municipal experience.
A picture is worth 1000 words to set the scene for a conversation
Titled Services & Sustainability, the presentation by Mike Matejka builds to the image below. It is defining in demonstrating how the increased cost of construction has outpaced increases in local government funding for replacement public works. What are the on-the-ground implications for a growing municipal infrastructure gap?
What the numbers tell us
Less work is being done. There are funding shortfalls for much needed projects. And so on. To illustrate the consequential impact of the diverging paths, Mike Matejka provided a decadal comparison for the City of Cranbrook road reconstruction program: The scope of work was reduced rom 10 blocks per year in 2017 to 4 blocks per year in 2024.
We are falling further and further behind…because of a mindset problem
“When Mike Matejka presented that slide, my reaction was ohmigosh. It was a game changer for me. Mike got me re-thinking how we have framed the asset management issue and how we should reframe it,” states Wally Wells.
“When Bill Sims wrote his post, he connected dots that are either forgotten or never known. Unless there is a transformational mindset change about how to finance asset renewal, we are past the point where local governments can catch up That is the issue!”
Change the mindset to one of reducing demand for services to levels that are affordable and sustainable
“Most folks in local government and around the world understand the nature of the asset management problem,” continues Bill Sims. “But councils have a short-term focus on what can be built during their term. Underground infrastructure or asset management is boring to them. Yet it is so core to the functioning of any government. It is an absolutely critical piece.”
The infrastructure gap is a slow-moving financial crisis that is consequential for local governments
“The asset management process does not include futures,” states Wally Wells. “Only when an asset is newly constructed is it added to the register. That disconnect got me thinking. Infrastructure must one day be replaced. In the meantime, what do we do with the futures stuff, really?”
“Where does the asset management process and plan fit into the big picture for municipal councils? Councils have dealt with the futures stuff and the need for master plans for decades. But what is missing from the futures agenda is an equal master plan dealing with the future condition of existing infrastructure.”
Communication Gap is Consequential
“As much as we have tried, we have not given the proportionate tools to our municipal councils to really understand and grasp the magnitude of the growing infrastructure gap over the last several decades. It is a slow-moving crisis,” Bill Sims concludes.
Living Water Smart in British Columbia Series
To download a copy of the foregoing resource as a PDF document for your records and/or sharing, click on Living Water Smart in British Columbia: Municipal Infrastructure Gap – We are past the point where local governments can catch up.
DOWNLOAD A COPY: https://waterbucket.ca/wcp/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2026/04/PWSBC_Living-Water-Smart_Bill-Sims-and-Wally-Wells_Municipal-Infrastructure-Gap_2026.pdf