One of 12 participating municipalities in FCM’s pilot Leadership in Asset Management Program, the City of Melville, SK, has upped its game in sustainable infrastructure planning and decision-making.
Results
$27 million
worth of municipal asset management projects funded through FCM’s Municipal Asset Management Program (MAMP)
663
municipal asset management projects supported through MAMP
374
MAMP training events and workshops
In 2017, the City of Melville developed a new asset management policy and governance framework, fundamentally changing the way it allocates funds to manage its assets.
Managing existing and new infrastructure while dealing with a flurry of competing priorities and limited budgets is a challenge all Canadian municipalities can relate to. But while municipalities across the country face the same dilemma, the training they need to overcome it can vary.
Through FCM’s Leadership in Asset Management Program (LAMP)—piloted through the Green Municipal Fund and now called the Municipal Asset Management Program (MAMP)—communities of all sizes gain access to a range of peer learning, hands-on training and other development opportunities offered close to home and tailored to their needs.
In 2015, FCM brought together 12 municipalities from across Canada, including the City of Melville, to help them better integrate sustainability considerations into their infrastructure planning and decision-making processes. Together, these communities have collectively built up Canada’s bench strength in sustainable infrastructure planning.
Over the past decade, Melville had increasingly become a bedroom and retirement community, attracting residents from nearby Regina and Yorkton. The small city faced a large infrastructure deficit along with the expectations and demands of a growing modern community.
Through the collaborative peer-to-peer forum provided by LAMP, the City of Melville learned from other communities and a variety of professionals with expertise in strategic and capacity-building initiatives. Drawing on its new skills and knowledge, the city developed a new asset management policy and governance framework, as well as a more systematic approach to decision-making. Where asset purchases and development once focused on solving the issues of the day, the city now deeply considers the long-term implications of these investments.
With this strong foundation in place, the city is now in a much better position to achieve its vision and goals while managing risk as it plans to welcome more residents to Melville in the years to come.
To have a door open, to have that cross-Canada platform and multi-functional group, was one of the greatest benefits of the program. A lot of best practices, a lot of new ideas, a lot of sharing the same pain happened in those rooms, and it was just absolutely incredible what we took away from that."
—Chris Bruce, Director of Community Services, City of Melville
Want to explore all GMF-funded projects? Check out the Projects Database for a complete overview of funded projects and get inspired by municipalities of all sizes, across Canada.