​What is Asset Management?
The term asset management has been defined in different ways by a variety of government and non-government organizations in Canada. As part of the Leadership in Asset Management Program (LAMP), an initiative delivered by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), a definition of asset management was created:
 

Asset management is an integrated approach, involving all organization departments, to effectively manage existing and new assets to deliver services to customers. The intent is to maximize benefits, reduce risks and provide satisfactory levels of service to the community in a sustainable manner – providing an optimum balance. Good asset management practices are fundamental to achieving sustainable communities.

Fundamentally, infrastructure assets exist to provide services to our communities. Managing our assets to deliver those services is asset management.
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Why Invest in Asset Management?

​Why use asset management to build climate resilience?

Mahone Bay’s Asset Management Journey
 
Although the Town has been managing numerous assets to deliver services to residents for over a century, asset management as a discipline is relatively new to Mahone Bay.
 

To learn more about the history of Mahone Bay’s assets – water, wastewater, electrical, streets and sidewalks, parks, etc. – pick up our centennial book Mahone Bay 100 Years and Counting, to purchase your copy contact Town Hall at 902-624-8327.

When it comes to asset management, knowledge is key. To give our asset management program a solid basis in data the Town was fortunate to participate in Nova Scotia’s Provincial Asset Management Pilot Program in 2017. We received additional support from the FCM’s Municipal Asset Management Program in 2020. Staff continue to work hard to improve the information available to Council to support their decision-making. We are well on our way to a comprehensive inventory of Town assets.

To use this improved knowledge of our assets to ensure sustainable delivery of services for Town residents, asset management principles must be integrated into the Town’s practice. To this end the Town Council took two important steps in 2019: adopting an Asset Management Policy, and establishing an Asset Management Committee.

Learn More About Mahone Bay's Infrastructure Assets

Click on each poster to expand and for additional facts.

Asset Management Plans

To inform residents and serve as a guiding document to staff, the Town’s Asset Management Committee has developed Asset Management Plans corresponding to each asset class, the first batch of which have been approved by Council for public release. 

These plans cover Mahone Bay’s Water, Wastewater, Stormwater and Transportation assets. Each plan document provides an overview of existing assets and Council’s management goals, introduces the concept of asset management risk and includes a risk assessment of our assets, and lays out how the Town is planning to invest in these assets over the coming 10 years.
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Water Assets

Wastewater Assets

Stormwater Assets

Transportation Assets

Town of Mahone Bay Asset Management Policy

This asset management policy provides direction for implementing organization-wide Asset Management processes for the Town of Mahone Bay which consider strategic plans, budgets, service levels and risks to ensure public assets are managed in a proactive and sustainable manner for current and future generations.

Town of Mahone Bay Committees Policy and AM Committee Terms of Reference
 
The Town’s Asset Management Committee is composed of Council members, members of the public, and non-voting staff. It first met in November of 2019.
 

The overall purpose of the Asset Management Committee as determined by Council is to provide leadership and engagement activities to ensure public assets are managed in a proactive and sustainable manner for current and future generations.

Interested in attending a committee meeting or volunteering to join as a public member? View committee agendas, minutes and more

The Council recognizes that public consultation is also key to a successful asset management program. The Town’s Asset Management Policy provides that:

Future service levels will be determined in consultation with the community; a transparent and responsive process will inform level of service objectives that balance community expectations and regulatory requirements with risk, affordability and available resources.

We’re working hard to produce accessible public information concerning the Town’s assets. Stay tuned to this section!
 
 
External Asset Management Resources

FCM

CNAM

AIM NETWORK

NSFM