Resource Center

The Asset Management Task Force delivered its findings in a report dated August 31, 1998 to the APWA Board of Directors. The Task Force, having completed its work, has been disbanded. The Leadership and Management Committee has been tasked with continuing the work on asset management.

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A May 1999 Congressional Budget Office (CBO) paper highlights spending for infrastructure over the past 42 years.

This document contains a new report format that the City of Bristol, CT is trying out. Each Division (Engineering, Operations, Land Use, Water Pollution Control and Administration) provides key performance indicators to the Board of Public Works each month using this format.

Vehicle Replacement Guidelines

Sample specs for towing, courtesy of the City of Lynchburg, VA

Process and the scenarios that are annually provided to the City of Milwaukee's budget office. Funding is based on affordability in the particular year's budget. The life cycle schedule for setting depreciation, and when (on the rare occasion that) funding permits also as a replacement schedule. This covers all the equipment within the fleet, and includes a schedule to begin performing annual evaluations on the equipment as well. An additional document can also be found at http://www.apwa.net/DR/index.asp?ID=1003.

This government web site for the Department of Energy (DOE) provides information on forming local Clean City Coalitions to address implementation energy conservation programs, including use of alternative fuel vehicles. Site also includes links to related sites, contact information for other Clean City Coalitions, buyer's guide, online newsletter, and information on grant funding.

Document used to transfer or dispose of any fixed assets including vehicles and equipment for the City of Edgewater, Florida.

Water and wastewater utilities across the country are facing many common challenges, including rising costs, aging infrastructure, increasingly stringent regulatory requirements, population changes, and a rapidly changing workforce. Effective utility management is critical to enable utilities to tackle challenges, increase performance and achieve success in the long run. The Effective utility Management Collaboration has developed a series of tools designed to help water and wastewater utilities advance effective utility management practices. The new tools are designed to simplify the Findings and Recommendations for a Water Utility Sector Management Strategy and make the recommendations easier for utility managers to understand and implement at their facilities. Each of the new tools are organized around the 10 Attributes of Effectively Managed Utilities and the 5 Keys to Management Success identified in the Findings and Recommendations for a Water Utility Sector Management Strategy that was released in May 2007.

PowerPoint Presentation [PPT]
Press Release [PDF]
Letter from sixteen member Steering Committee [PDF]
Findings and Recommendations for a Water Utility Sector Management Strategy [PDF]
Summary of Committee Findings [PDF]
Statement of Support [PDF]
Short and Long-Term Action Plan [PDF]
Effective Utility Management Report [PDF]
Primer [PDF]
Electronic Resource Toolbox [LINK]

Water and wastewater utilities across the country are facing many common challenges, including rising costs, aging infrastructure, increasingly stringent regulatory requirements, population changes, and a rapidly changing workforce. Effective utility management is critical to enable utilities to tackle challenges, increase performance and achieve success in the long run. The Effective utility Management Collaboration has developed a series of tools designed to help water and wastewater utilities advance effective utility management practices. The new tools are designed to simplify the Findings and Recommendations for a Water Utility Sector Management Strategy and make the recommendations easier for utility managers to understand and implement at their facilities. Each of the new tools are organized around the 10 Attributes of Effectively Managed Utilities and the 5 Keys to Management Success identified in the Findings and Recommendations for a Water Utility Sector Management Strategy that was released in May 2007.

PowerPoint Presentation [PPT]
Press Release [PDF]
Letter from sixteen member Steering Committee [PDF]
Findings and Recommendations for a Water Utility Sector Management Strategy [PDF]
Summary of Committee Findings [PDF]
Statement of Support [PDF]
Short and Long-Term Action Plan [PDF]
Effective Utility Management Report [PDF]
Primer [PDF]
Electronic Resource Toolbox [LINK]

Full Cost Accounting is an accounting practice that can help local governments assess and manage the actual costs of running municipal solid waste programs, so that you can improve your services while keeping your costs lean. EPA's site includes the Full Cost Accounting Resource Guide and other publications.

The Fall 2005 (Volume 11, Number 1) issue features articles on

Reauthorization
TIFIA Update
GARVEE Roundup
SIB Highlights
Resources

Rick Everett, Fleet Manager, City of Edmond, Oklahoma, shares their replacement spread sheet. It features a good deal of detail that might be beneficial to other managers, such as lifecycle, acquisition costs, years for replacement, etc.

Paul E. Hinderaker, Fleet Services Director, City of Ames, Iowa, has edited their spreadsheet for Fleet Replacement Cycles. In addition to editing the spreadsheet and adding instructions, he also added a list of most of their "Replacement Targets" by miles, hours, or age for most of the fleet classes they manage. These work for them in their region and use, however, as he noted, you can insert yours into the spreadsheet. Ames's maintenance records provide the best information on this to determine when uncontrolled maintenance costs begin to occur and help "target" replacement timing. Ames has a population of 50,000 and is a university community with over half the population being college students. There is some light industry and a large governmental employment base for comparison purposes to your community. They handle about 32" of snow per year and spread ice control salts and liquids that accelerate the deterioration of fleet; that is where age is a factor.

This was a much sought-after 2001 Congress presentation wherein the author, Gordon Siebert, describes a conceptual model for analyzing public works and engineering staffing needs that relates resources to demand variables such as permit fees and dollar values of capital projects. The model was successfully employed in a number of jurisdictions in California.

GASB has created three discussion forums on the development and use of performance measurement systems in public agencies. These discussion groups are available for you to share information or learn more about performance measurement from other people actively involved in creating, using, analyzing, assessing and studying performance measures for state and local governments.

PowerPoint presentation on the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) Statement Number 34 requirements for reporting infrastructure assets on annual financial statements. This presentation was made to a Missouri Chapter of the Government Finance Officer's Association conference on January 18, 2002.

The Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) has adopted new requirements for annual financial statements prepared by state and local government. GASB Statement Number 34 contains significant changes in the information and format for financial statements, including requiring infrastructure assets to be included on the annual statement. The requirements include reporting of historical cost and an annual depreciation amount for infrastructure. GASB 34 also includes a “modified approach” that involves establishing a condition rating system and setting minimum condition levels for infrastructure maintenance. APWA has been very active in providing information and advise to GASB in the development of the new standard, especially about how public works and infrastructure management agencies manage their assets and what types of systems can be used to establish and track condition ratings. GASB Statement Number 34: What Your Agency Needs To Do (a two hour audio conference tape) Buy Online!

A copy of Minnesota's Department of Transportation's RFP for purchase of Biodiesel

Don Holmes was a speaker during at the 2007 Congress. Several attendees requested a copy of the Portland Water Bureau's Request for Bid

Vehicle Replacement Policy

City of Winston-Salem's guidelines for replacing vehicles/equipment (1,600+ pieces of rolling stock). These guidelines were developed many years ago. Please realize that these are just "guidelines" and that vehicle condition, use, and maintenance records are taken into consideration when replacement decisions are made.

The City of Rochester Water Bureau Fleet Replacement Policy is in its original format, as presented to the employees. References to their fleet, personnel, and steps taken to create the policy have not been edited as this background information helped their employees understand their reasoning. If you would like to discuss the policy Fleet, Materials and Facility Manager Gary Giudice can reach at Gary.Giudice@CityofRochester.gov or by phone at 585-428-6499.

Sample document from the City of Edgewater, Florida, used to transfer or dispose of any fixed assets including vehicles and equipment.

RFP and towing contract for both City owned and Private owned vehicles (accident and/or impound) from the City of Troy, Michigan.

Here is the replacement plan spreadsheet I put together to calculate which units in our vehicle classifications are most costly. This helps me identify what units should be replaced first and gives some data to support that decision. How it works: 1) Enter all of the vehicles in a particular vehicle classification 2) Enter annual fuel consumed 3) Enter annual maintenance 4) Enter current odometer reading 5) Enter the class averages in each category 6) As listed in the notes the spreadsheet will calculate the Maintenance, Fuel and Odometer "Factor" 7) The far right column will display the Replacement Factor 8) Do a data, sort by Replacement factor 9) The highest Replacement Factor is the most costly vehicle in total operating costs. This method works well when there is not a lot of historical data or fleet history to be had. Dennis R. Hogan - CAFM Fleet Services Manager Fleet Services Division 1010 1st Street NW City of Cedar Rapids, IA 52405 D.Hogan@cedar-rapids.org

TwHP program has posted two on-line lesson plans based on historic places, The Greatest Dam in the World: Building Hoover Dam and Making the Desert Bloom: The Rio Grande Project.

TPL pioneers new ways to finance parks and open space, promotes the importance of public land, and helps communities establish land-protection goals. The site includes case studies, reports, and TPL's magazine, Land and People.