https://www.americancityandcounty.com/wp-content/themes/acc_child/assets/images/logo/footer-logo.png
  • Home
  • Co-op Solutions
  • Hybrid Work
  • Commentaries
  • News
  • In-Depth
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Podcast
  • Resources & Events
    • Back
    • Resources
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • IWCE 2022
    • How to Contribute
    • Municipal Cost Index – Archive
    • Equipment Watch Page
    • American City & County Awards
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Privacy Statement
    • Terms of Service
American City and County
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • Co-op Solutions
  • Hybrid Work
  • Commentaries
  • News
  • In-Depth
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Podcasts
  • Resources/Events
    • Back
    • Webinars
    • White Papers/eBooks
    • IWCE 2022
    • How to Contribute
    • American City & County Awards
    • Municipal Cost Index
    • Equipment Watch Page
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Cookie Policy
    • Privacy Stament
    • Terms of Service
  • newsletter
  • Administration
  • Economy & Finance
  • Procurement
  • Public Safety
  • Public Works & Utilities
  • Smart Cities & Technology
  • Magazine
acc.com

Commentaries


Commentary

Closing the gap: How a facilities master plan can help your city

Closing the gap: How a facilities master plan can help your city

  • Written by Kayla Anthony
  • 21st January 2020

Cities and counties across America face the same predicament: unrelenting demand for limited resources. Without enough funding to go around, elected officials and city staff must make high-stakes decisions about public spending on a number of things, such as facilities and services. With so much to choose from and pressure being applied from all sides, how can a government decision maker choose which projects to pursue?

One key to making these tough decisions is the facilities master plan. This community-driven and objective analysis can provide a strategic, macro-level look at a city’s entire portfolio of facilities alongside its needs and community desires.

To familiarize you, here’s a primer on facilities master plans:


What is the purpose of a facilities master plan?

Imagine embarking on a road trip with no plan—no destination, no map, no budget, and no schedule. Without this vision, you cannot expect to find a scenic route, to stay within budget, or even to complete your trip. Just like a road trip needs a plan, cities and counties need a facilities master plan. This might seem obvious—that in order to get where you want to go, and on your terms, you need a plan—but cities and counties go plan-less all the time, resulting in an inefficient use of resources.


Is a facilities master plan applicable to me?

A facilities master plan identifies strategies to close the gap between where a local government is now and where it desires to be. Because every city has a gap to be closed, a facilities master plan is applicable to you if you own even a portion of this responsibility within your organization. Perhaps you are reading this and struggling with a population increase/decrease. Or your city’s buildings are in such disrepair that you’re overwhelmed thinking about where to begin. Perhaps the struggle is changing demand in programs and services. Regardless, a facilities master plan can help, since it is crafted based on your identified needs. It tells your municipality’s story and finds solutions that are situation-specific.


What does this actually look like?

Facilities master planning begins with establishing a vision for the future and comparing that vision to current baseline conditions. To determine the gap between the current state and future ambition, you must first conduct a thorough review of building conditions, demographics, and geographical distribution of services. This helps identify the physical and functional building needs, service inequities, or shifting community needs that must be addressed.

For example, recent development on the western edge of your community has created new neighborhoods that lack access to existing programs and services. Meanwhile, longer-established neighborhoods on the eastern edge contain individuals who’ve decided to age in place. Demographic indicators drive community needs, meaning these shifts will have a direct impact on the amount and type of services the municipality provides.

Another example: Your city has recently constructed or modernized its building portfolio, but even newer buildings need capital projects to remain in working order over time. The facilities master plan helps document the baseline building conditions and project needs over time. You can use the plan to create a database of building data to determine future maintenance activities, to plan for capital projects, and to estimate the cost of repairs and replacements over time.


How do we do this? Who leads such a process, and when should it happen?

A facilities master plan is a cooperative effort among community, staff, and leaders. A successful process will garner public buy-in and will empower staff and city leaders to make long-term capital decisions that align with community needs.

As for the when, the process can be conducted alongside the established project planning cycle. This is the case because facilities master planning provides opportunities to document and establish lessons learned as well as pilot new strategies on projects already in planning or development. It is never too late to plan if doing so prevents missed opportunities or allows for strategic portfolio opportunities and efficiencies that would otherwise be overlooked.


If you remember just one thing from this article…

A facilities master plan is not a silver bullet—it cannot solve a city’s or county’s funding gap nor can it provide an answer to every problem. However, when done correctly, a facilities master plan coalesces community, staff, and elected leaders to rally behind tough choices in an era of high-stakes decisions about public and social infrastructure.

 

Kayla Anthony, AICP, is project Manager at Brailsford & Dunlavey. She has led the development of over $6 billion in long-term capital programs and master plans across the US with a focus on cities and public infrastructure. 

 

Tags: Public Works & Utilities Commentaries Public Works & Utilities Commentary

Most Recent


  • Amid an unprecedented increase in federal spending, cities and counties stand to benefit from partnerships
    The so-called “American dream” of upward mobility has more or less stagnated: Today, a little more than 40 percent of children raised at the bottom of the income ladder remain there as adults, according to Pew Charitable Trusts, and only half grow up to earn more than their parents. This data points to a concerning […]
  • Cities Connecting Children to Nature initiative adds 15 new cities to program
    Researchers have correlated access to nature with positive impacts like lower stress and anxiety, leading to higher academic achievement, increased emotional learning, stronger social connections, better self esteem, and a greater sense of environmental stewardship. But in today’s built environment, where concrete and brick dominate landscapes, nature is often a car drive or train ride away—and […]
  • urban placemaking
    Making urban placemaking equitable through collaboration
    What makes a city a city? Ask 10 people, and you’ll likely receive 10 different answers: the community, the buildings, the culture, the restaurants. But one element that has an outsized impact on a city’s character—yet is often overlooked—is urban placemaking. Urban placemaking is an overarching approach and a set of hands-on strategies that center […]
  • Historic infrastructure investment presents opportunity to improve roadway safety
    Two years ago, the pandemic changed everything—remote work became normalized; the popularity of delivery services went through the roof; roadway deaths spiked with fewer commuters and wide-open highways. They haven’t come down. “The reality in America right now is that no matter the size of your community or whether it is urban, suburban or rural, […]

Leave a comment Cancel reply

-or-

Log in with your American City and County account

Alternatively, post a comment by completing the form below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • How local governments can improve bridge projects through strategic engagement
  • NLC releases State of Cities 2021 report
  • How local governments can get ahead of the infrastructure wave: Strategies to mitigate risk
  • Prioritizing rapid restore leads to stronger ransomware attack recovery

Twitter


AmerCityCounty

Seamless Cooperative Experience Saves Indiana City Exponentially in Time and Money dlvr.it/SSxp95

27th June 2022
AmerCityCounty

10 best large cities for fishing dlvr.it/SSxbSZ

27th June 2022
AmerCityCounty

Generational differences present an opportunity to reinvent public sector service delivery dlvr.it/SSxbN7

27th June 2022
AmerCityCounty

Report: Local and state governments are facing a retention crisis; the worst could be yet to come dlvr.it/SSnmS7

24th June 2022
AmerCityCounty

Amid an unprecedented increase in federal spending, cities and counties stand to benefit from partnerships dlvr.it/SSkGBn

23rd June 2022
AmerCityCounty

Governments using technology to harness data and improve decision-making dlvr.it/SSk3H0

23rd June 2022
AmerCityCounty

Infrastructure highlighted by city leaders as top priority in analysis of 60 mayoral addresses dlvr.it/SSgBck

22nd June 2022
AmerCityCounty

Oklahoma City puts the focus on employees when implementing changes in office technology dlvr.it/SSfyns

22nd June 2022

Newsletters

Sign up for American City & County’s newsletters to receive regular news and information updates about local governments.

Resale Insights Dashboard

The Resale Insights Dashboard provides model-level data for the entire used equipment market to help you save time and money.

Municipal Cost Index

Updated monthly since 1978, our exclusive Municipal Cost Index shows the effects of inflation on the cost of providing municipal services

Media Kit and Advertising

Want to reach our digital audience? Learn more here.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • IWCE’s Urgent Communications
  • IWCE Expo

WORKING WITH US

  • About Us
  • Contact Us

FOLLOW American City and County ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookies Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2022 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.
This website uses cookies, including third party ones, to allow for analysis of how people use our website in order to improve your experience and our services. By continuing to use our website, you agree to the use of such cookies. Click here for more information on our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
X