Council approves creating 'infrastructure reinvestment program' to tackle $7.7 billion in deferred maintenance
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A long-winded notice of motion from Ward 12 Coun. Evan Spencer directed administration to develop an Infrastructure Reinvestment Program, with eight considerations to address the city's worsening backlog of deferred maintenance during the 2027 to 2030 four-year budget cycle.
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'What I want out of this is to force the conversation,' said Spencer, who is also chair of the city's audit committee. 'We have a gap. We have to talk about the actual amount of money required to deal with this and start making plans to do so.'
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The considerations include identifying and 'consolidating' stable funding sources, such as utility rates, government grants, property taxes and user fees; establishing criteria for prioritizing infrastructure reinvestment projects based on their condition, risk, service levels and alignment with strategic objectives; and exploring potential contributions from other orders of government to share risks and costs associated with infrastructure reinvestment.
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The motion also directs the city to amend the terms of reference for its future capital and lifecycle maintenance reserves, to double the 2.6 per cent annual property tax funding to five per cent. According to Spencer, this consideration will come to council's July 22 executive committee meeting for approval.
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Spencer's motion was in response to the city's 2020 infrastructure status report, which highlighted a growing percentage of deteriorating assets and an estimated $7.73-billion infrastructure funding gap. The report recommended more than $500 million in annual maintenance and operating investments by 2030.
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The city's infrastructure deficit has been amplified by rapid population growth, aging assets and escalating costs driven by inflation, he argued.
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The Ward 12 representative, who is not running for reelection, has been critical of council's tendency to draw from its reserves to support initiatives on a one-time basis.
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