This research paper was shared with ELGL by our friends at the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA).
The municipal government of the District of Columbia (the “District”) is a leader in asset management and infrastructure renewal planning. The purpose of this paper is to describe the District’s approach through the lens of Financial Foundations for Thriving Communities.
By using this lens, we hope to make it easier for local governments to not just replicate the technical aspects of what the District has done but also invent approaches to asset management that best fit local conditions.
Success at asset management does not require copying all of the technical details of the District’s approach, but it does require that each of the five pillars of the Financial Foundations Framework is put in place. At the end of this paper, we will touch upon how the District’s approach to capital assets has allowed it to navigate through the financial challenges caused by COVID-19.