Smiths Falls council received an asset management update Monday night.
Consultant from PSD CityWide Arum Sharma says 68% of the town’s assets are in fair, good, or very good condition, a promising indicator.
The town’s sewer infrastructure is the most critical of assets, with about 55% in poor or very poor condition.
The current funding required to cover the town’s estimated annual investment to maintain its infrastructure of $12.1 million is about $5.8 million short.
Sharma recommended to council a 15-year phased in approach to cover the deficit.
85% of the town’s assets have been reviewed to date, but Sharma says some of those reports date as far back as 2019, so it’s important to update reports consistently.
Director of Corporate Services and Treasurer Paul Dowber says the current annual increase for water rates is 5.5% and wastewater is 3.5% so the increases proposed by PSD CityWide could fit, but if not they’d have to review.
Dowber said a 0.5% tax rate increase equals to about $400,000 in additional revenue.
Council has requested staff corral all existing asset reports and provide an update on how long ago sites were looked at.
See the breakdown here.
Story by Grant Deme