The City owns billions of dollars in assets residents use every day. Maintaining them before failure is a core capital-planning responsibility.
HOW I WOULD TEST CAPITAL SPENDING
Start with a repair-first test. Before approving a new facility, show the state-of-good-repair work competing for the same capital and explain why the new project should come first. Residents should be able to see the maintenance backlog before Council adds another asset to it.
WHAT A BETTER CAPITAL DECISION SHOULD SHOW
Assets repaired before failure, maintenance backlogs made visible and new capital projects required to explain what they outrank.
EVIDENCE THAT MATTERS
London’s 2023 Corporate Asset Management Plan covers close to $28.5 billion in municipal infrastructure assets. The City amended its Corporate Asset Management Policy again in March 2026.
Why it matters: A new capital asset is not only a construction decision. It adds lifecycle, maintenance and renewal obligations to a portfolio that already has long-term state-of-good-repair needs.
City of London — Corporate Asset Management ↗REPAIR FIRST
Buildings, facilities, parking assets, maintenance, state of good repair and the future of City Hall all compete for capital. Condition, lifecycle cost, service need and operating cost should be visible before the decision.
ON THIS ASSET
Use the asset condition, public need and lifecycle cost before deciding whether a City building should be repaired, reused or replaced.
ON THIS ASSET
For municipal facilities, show condition, utilization, operating cost, lifecycle cost and the repair-or-replacement decision before approving major new capital.
ON THIS ASSET
Maintain parking assets against condition, public need and the wider municipal asset plan.
CAPITAL TEST
For maintenance, publish the backlog, preventative work and high-risk deferred repairs so Council can see what is being postponed before approving additional assets.
CAPITAL TEST
Use state-of-good-repair information as a priority list and report what is slipping toward failure.
CAPITAL TEST
OPEN: the current public position has not locked the future location and cost of City Hall. Keep the options and costs visible until that decision is made.
Location, scope and cost remain open until the options and trade-offs are before the public decision-maker.
OPEN DECISION
The future City Hall campus/location and cost remain open. Council directed a two-stage review of the Master Accommodation Plan process after the prior RFPQ drew one private developer; no final redevelopment option is treated as decided on this site.
Council sets capital priorities and funding. Staff maintain the asset register, condition information and delivery program. Major property decisions require the applicable public process and Council vote.
Use condition, lifecycle cost and service need as the capital test. Staff provide the asset information; Council decides priorities and funding. New facilities should show what repair or renewal work they outrank before the vote.
GO DEEPER
The main answer stays here. Open the deeper file when you want the mechanism, motion, proposal or supporting record.
