Saint John is in the midst of developing a plan to manage all of its assets, which are worth more than a billion dollars.
Mayor Don Darling says the plan will look at the city’s current assets and allow council to make the best data-informed decisions if they decide to add or get rid of an asset.
“I think we should always be open-minded to, you know, what do we have that we shouldn’t have anymore,” says Darling, “what [do] we have that we can sell and divest of the cost of operating a building or something that maybe is being underutilized.”
Darling says the goal is to eliminate much of the complexity and subjectivity that comes with making decisions like that.
Work on the asset management plan began last year and Darling says they still have a ways to go.
“This is likely going to be multi-year to work through this,” he says, “but we’re learning as we go along and we’re gaining benefits as we go along.”
Finance committee chair David Merrithew has said the plan will help future councils make proactive decisions instead of reactive ones.
