BONAVISTA, N.L. — Bonavista Town Manager David Hiscock says the province can't expect towns to simply take over roads, bridges and other "assets" carrying costly maintenance and other expenses.
“Nothing they would like better (is) for the towns to take over all their assets in their municipalities but the towns can’t afford that,” Hiscock told The Packet.
It was for this reason the Town of Bonavista is addressing the way the provincial government conducts this, "asset management", and the subsequent relationship with municipalities.
They're looking to have further discussion when it comes to the province's decision making regarding the infrastructure that makes up these "assets."
In fact, the town helped pass a resolution at November’s Municipalities Newfoundland and Labrador conference on the issue.
In an interview with The Packet, Hiscock says, as an example, the concern can be based on roads in the community that are managed by the province.
He says Coster Street, Station Road, Hospital Road, John Cabot Drive, Church Street and Confederation Drive are all maintained by the Department of Transportation and Works.
When “downloading” responsibilities for streets to the municipality, there needs to be better asset management, with more incentive, he suggested.
In many cases, it's simply not feasible for a town like Bonavista to take on further responsibility beyond what they already have.
He says at an earlier MNL meeting this year in Labrador, discussions began on how the province tries to offload assets, like roads and bridges, to towns when they get in bad shape — without adequate funds to continue to maintain them.
Hiscock says the resolution is to ensure the province manages its own assets, and if it does look to have municipalities take over assets, to make a respectable offer.
He estimates the list of paving demands within the Town of Bonavista for next year, including provincial roads, could cost over $8 million.
“How could we venture to take over that? We’ve got a struggle to keep our own, we’ve got about 30 kilometres of road besides that.”
This past season, the Department of Transportation and Works completed some roadwork in the community — a section of Confederation Drive — less than what was identified as needing work.
Hiscock says the town can’t manage its own assets simply on gas tax funding alone. It also needs funding to renovate the public building/post office, which was formerly a federal building.
“We’re operating better than we have been for a long time, but that’s only operating.”
Hiscock says MNL will now look for the province to come up with an asset management plan in the future as a response to the resolution.
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Provincial Asset Divestment Protocol tabled by Town of Bonavista
Whereas the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador has repeatedly sought to transfer ownership of provincial bridges, roads and other assets to municipalities;
and, Whereas these transfers represent significant new operating and maintenance expenses for receiving municipalities;
and, Whereas the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador administers the current Gas Tax Agreement for this jurisdiction calling upon all municipalities to implement contemporary asset management practice;
and, Whereas the Provincial Government’s own asset management practices lack transparency;
Therefore, Be It Resolved that Municipalities Newfoundland and Labrador work with the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to establish a provincial asset management protocol encompassing the ongoing oversight, operation, maintenance and disposal of provincial assets falling within Municipal and Municipal Planning Area Boundaries.
Staff Comments: MNL staff members were involved in the drafting of this resolution, as it also emerged from the UMC meetings in Labrador City. Asset management is a critical area of practice within which municipalities are currently working, in part to meet their requirements under the current Federal-Provincial Gas Tax Agreement. Better protocols with the provincial government will both assist towns in their efforts to manage the infrastructure in their respective jurisdictions, and more generally ensure that public assets in Newfoundland and Labrador are handled in the most clear, consistent and sustainable fashion.
Information courtesy of Municipalities Newfoundland and Labrador
