2023 Annual Conference Sessions: Capital Planning and Asset Management
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Sessions for Sunday, May 21
Public-Private Partnerships in Action
When private investment is brought to a public project, there is an inherent tension present in both the financing and implementation, which manifests in the balance between risk and cost. The amount of risk and cost that is carried or shifted between the public and private partners yields a continuum of what projects and agreements look like for governments and their partners. What does a good deal look like? What are the criteria governments should utilize when selecting and implementing projects? What are the lessons learned by those that have done these kinds of projects? This session will help finance officers understand when and under what conditions to utilize this financial and project implementation tool.
Sessions for Monday, May 22
Resiliency for Capital Assets in times of Environmental Change
There are hundreds of billions of dollars of infrastructure in the ground at all levels of government that we depend on every day. The planning and resourcing that went into these assets represent years of design, implementation, and financial commitment. What actions are governments taking to ensure they are designed and maintained to be resilient? How can governments invest in existing assets so they are available for years to come? How do we balance these infrastructure needs with the realities of what our community can afford? Speakers in this session will focus on sustainability and stewardship in all aspects of the push to find resilience through investments for both existing and new assets.
Asset Management Across the Globe: International Capital Planning and Implementation
Finance officers from around the world have responsibility for managing infrastructure and leaders from across the globe have come together to develop innovative approaches for planning, budgeting, and overall management of these critical assets. In this session, speakers from Australia, New Zealand, and Sweden will provide insight into what is working and what challenges are being faced regionally and nationally. Attend this session to challenge traditional thinking patterns and inherited conditions many governments carry by listening to professionals in other countries engaging in similar work across the globe.
Sessions for Tuesday, May 23
Don't Let it "Slide": Moving to Proactive Asset Management
Capital Planning is a balancing act of: the maintenance of assets that are currently in place, seeing the asset needs for the future, measuring the gaps that require new facility investments, and thinking about the available revenues that are available to make these expenditures. The perceived lack of visibility for investment in current assets often yields annual budgets with unfortunate realities like deferred maintenance in the operating budget and losing the high-stakes annual capital improvement plan pageant to new projects in the capital budget. The deficit of investments in existing assets is a lack of stewardship that leaves jurisdictions vulnerable to the most expensive class of potential asset costs; emergency purchases for asset failure. This panel will explore the concepts and tools that finance departments can utilize to move thinking from Reactive to Proactive in the stewardship of assets like the master plan, consideration of levels of service, and the structure of decision making relative to the capital plan.
Building Understanding: How to Work with the Public Works Department
It is essential that finance officers have a good working relationship with peers in the Public Works department. In order to have an effective relationship, finance officers need to communicate with project managers, engineers, plant managers, and others to work collaboratively to solve problems and meet mutual goals. In this session, speakers will provide the Public Works perspective and discuss strategies for ensuring organizations are aligned when it comes to capital planning, infrastructure and asset management, facility maintenance, and more.
Sessions for Wednesday, May 24
Variety is the Spice of Life: Options for Successful Capital Financing Strategies
Funding the construction of infrastructure, facilities, and other assets is not easy and at times, governments need to consider creative options to provide necessary solutions. Beyond debt financing, pay-as-you-go, and grant funding, finance officers have used a variety of ways to pay for their capital projects including use of private funds, interfund borrowing, microfinancing, and more. However, not all ideas are good ones. In this session, speakers will provide attendees with considerations for different funding options, the pros and cons of each, and how to determine what works best for your government.
