Corporate Facilities

Administration facilities provide safe and efficient work and meeting places for County staff, Council, other organizations, and members of the public. The fleet, facilities and energy management division manage and maintain facilities assets across all service areas within the County, allowing those assets to meet functional requirements along with building and safety codes, while operating in a safe and efficient manner. The administrative buildings provide space for staff workstations, equipment, and material; provide modern and effective meeting places; and support the County in delivering front-line and administrative services.

This portfolio is categorized into four components; facilities, furniture and equipment, renewable energy assets (those managed corporately in support of the Renewable Energy Action Plan) and County of Oxford Integrated Network (COIN) Towers. Minor equipment, not included within another appendix is included in the furniture and equipment component under this portfolio. 

Inventory

Replacement costs were determined by recent tenders where possible, comparison to insured values, use of costs obtained during the 2025 Budget process along with other estimates from County staff where inflated historical costs were deemed to be insufficient.

Condition

The percentage of assets in poor or critical condition has increased from 16% as reported in the 2024 AMP to 17%. The percentage of assets in good or excellent condition has decreased from 63% as reported in the 2024 AMP to 60%.

Key Performance

The objective of the Corporate Facilities service is to provide well maintained buildings and property appropriate to the services delivered, ensuring safe, accessible, and efficient spaces for use by staff, Council, other organizations, and members of the public.

Proposed Levels of Service Review

Information on the scenarios reviewed is contained within the AMP document. As the reserve balance and proposed funding under all scenarios are sufficient to fund the short-term lifecycle needs, the average anticipated condition of the portfolio is the same under all scenarios for approximately 15 years.

Risk mitigation measures are similar across all scenarios. Evolving work environments, such as work from home opportunities, naturally allow for risk mitigation in the event of facility failure, or to complete more extensive system replacements dictated by lifecycle needs. This mitigation measure would not be ideal in the long term as it would result in additional strain on the services provided by Information Technology. Some administrative facilities are also used for direct delivery of front-line services, such as child programming and court services, which would require an alternative location to achieve service continuity, likely at additional costs. 

Based on the analysis, staff are recommending Scenario D, the proposed level of service target is to achieve 70% funding for this portfolio. Staff identified an improvement area to look at lifecycle strategies for various facility components as it may be beneficial in the long-term to not anticipate a run-to-failure strategy for some assets. Once incorporated this may result in reductions to the annual investment required. 

Funding Gap Analysis

Planned Investment Level
An estimated inflationary rate is used in the table below in both the required investment and planned investment figures. A debt obligation for the County courthouse is fulfilled in 2025 with those funds being re-invested and are included in the planned investment level in 2026. Although interest rates are declining, the reserve balance is projected to grow over the 10-year period increasing the overall interest earned and contributing to the closing of the funding gap in the near-term.

Proposed Investment Change
Aside from the inflationary increase, and re-investment of debenture funds, staff are not proposing any further increases to the contribution level for the 2026 budget. Staff will complete additional analysis in preparation of the 2026 AMP and 2027 budget to determine the appropriate methodology for recommending further investment level increases to close the gap given the various funding sources for administrative facilities.

Comparison of required investment to proposed investment (millions)