Sustainable Service Delivery: View the Watershed through an Asset Management Lens
Note to Reader:
In October 2013, Asset Management BC and the Local Government Management Association of BC co-hosted a workshop in Richmond. A panel of three Chief Administrative Officers representing local governments from three geographic regions spoke to this topic: Sustainable Service Delivery. Emanuel Machado provided a pragmatic perspective on the long-term benefits of viewing watersheds through an “asset management lens” and “designing with nature” in order to both reduce a community’s infrastructure liability and save money over time.
Asset Management – How the Pieces Fit Together….from a Local Government Chief Administrative Officer Perspective
“The Town of Gibsons has recognized, formally and in practice, that nature, and the ecosystems services that it provides, are a fundamental and integral part of the Town’s infrastructure system. Gibsons is one of the first communities in North America to do so,” stated Emanuel Machado, Chief Administrative Officer, and a member of the CAO Panel.
“The policy change occurred with the adoption of the 2013/14 Strategic Plan. This hybrid document combines a sustainability framework with a more traditional strategic plan.”
“Natural assets are considered cheaper to operate; can last indefinitely, if properly managed; and are carbon neutral, and in some cases can be carbon positive.”
“Ultimately, the goal is to move from simply maintaining infrastructure to a service delivery model, where those services are delivered by the smallest number, the most natural, most energy energy-efficient, and the most reliable municipal assets, that cost the least to operate over the long term,” concludes Emanuel Machado.
To Learn More:
Click on Provincial Funding in British Columbia Linked to Viewing Watersheds through a “Sustainable Service Delivery” Lens to about the provincial context for the Town of Gibsons “design with nature” approach to asset management.
To download a copy of the Town’s Strategic Plan, click here.