JASON SETNYK
Cornwall’s updated Asset Management Plan pegs the replacement value of the City’s infrastructure at $3.78 billion, while warning that maintaining-and gradually improving-service levels will require sustained investment and tough choices.
Jenn Gross and William Alimena of GEI Consultants Canada presented the City’s 2025 Asset Management Plan (AMP) to Cornwall City Council at a recent meeting. General Manager of Financial Services Tracey Bailey said the AMP covers a “diverse portfolio” of municipal assets, including roads, water and wastewater systems, public facilities, parks, housing, and other infrastructure. The plan is designed to meet Ontario Regulation 588/17, which has set phased milestones for municipalities since it came into force in 2018.
The presenters explained that the 2025 milestone requires municipalities to document current levels of service, set proposed targets, and outline the financial strategy needed to achieve those targets across both core and non-core infrastructure. Gross said the updated replacement value is higher than prior plans due to inflation and rising construction and equipment costs. She said the overall condition profile includes a healthy portion rated good or very good, with about five per cent in very poor condition.
Council’s discussion focused on the “infrastructure gap” — the difference between projected funding and projected needs. For tax-supported assets, the AMP estimates an average annual gap of $9.94 million to maintain current levels of service and $41.27 million to meet proposed targets. Councillor Dean Hollingsworth asked whether the $41.27 million figure meant a major tax hike “today,” and Bailey confirmed that $41 million would represent about a 40 per cent tax increase. Gross stressed the number is an average annual estimate that blends operating and capital needs and is intended to inform incremental change rather than a single-year jump. Bailey later said the AMP is an information tool-like the City’s long-term financial plan-intended to inform decisions, not commit Council to a specific project list.
The plan uses multiple scenarios to frame the challenge, including an anticipated budget scenario, a “maintain current level of service” scenario, a backlog analysis, and a proposed level-of-service scenario intended to balance cost, risk, and asset performance. The GEI presenters said proposed targets are often framed as a 25-year goal rather than something expected within the next decade.
For water assets, GEI reported no gap to maintain current service levels, but an average annual $9.47 million gap to meet proposed targets. Wastewater showed an $8.37 million gap to maintain current levels and $10.45 million to meet proposed levels. Across all City assets combined, the AMP estimates an average annual gap of $20.01 million to maintain current levels of service and $61.19 million to meet proposed targets.
Councillor Sarah Good said some issues-such as long-term care equipment condition and sewer system performance-can have more immediate impacts on residents. Staff clarified that one combined sewer metric referenced overflow events to the river system when the combined system reaches capacity, not basement flooding.
Councillor Denis Sabourin questioned how inflation and depreciation factor into long-term projections. Gross said asset management is not focused on past depreciation, but on forward-looking replacement costs, and the plan expresses forecasts in today’s dollars without inflation.
Asked by Councillor Fred Ngoundjo whether other municipalities have found a strategy that “works,” Gross said many communities are in a similar position and pointed to infrastructure levies and incremental change, alongside non-financial steps like refining service targets, prioritizing assets, community engagement, and advocating to senior levels of government. CAO Tim Mills added that infrastructure is a top provincial priority through AMO and argued that without renewed provincial and federal funding programs, municipalities will remain constrained. He also cautioned that an “infrastructure levy” is ultimately a tax increase.
Council voted unanimously to receive the presentation. The AMP will be posted publicly and supported by annual progress updates, with a full update required at least every five years under the regulation.
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