King Township's new tool makes it easier to plan, spend tax dollars
Yorkregion.com
Sept. 20, 2016
By Tim Kelly
The Township of King will soon be in a position to know the exact condition of every asset it owns.
The new Asset Management Plan (AMP), unveiled in a presentation last week by Allan Evelyn, King’s director of finance and treasurer, will be delivered by this December.
Evelyn told council the AMP will “cover the entire municipality and will include the fleet, municipal buildings, community halls, sidewalks, streetlights, sewers, roads, all the infrastructure the Township owns.”
More importantly, Evelyn said, the system will reveal the condition of the infrastructure in real time so councillors can make informed decisions about what tax dollars needed to be invested and where and when they need to be spent.
As an example of how the AMP would work, Evelyn picked a hypothetical example of making road improvements on the 15th Sideroad between Dufferin and Keele streets in King City.
“We would go back to the AMP registry, see what the condition of the road is, the last year work was done, the type of base we used, and we would have the life expectancy of the road - all of that helps us with investment now,” he said.
“The proficiency with which we maintain the asset registry will make a difference,” Evelyn said.
The AMP relies on metrics and its goal is to help council make more informed, intelligent decisions about where and when to best spend public dollars, said the treasurer.
Councillors asked if broadband and trees could be included in the AMP as well.
