Over the past four years Haldimand County has substantially increased the number and total dollar value of capital projects designed to meet the growing needs of Haldimand County residents, while at the same time, renew and sustain the County’s existing infrastructure.

During this period, the number of active capital projects has grown from about 500 projects per year to over 600 projects per year and the funding has increased from approximately $100 million to over $120 million. The delivery of the capital project program has largely been accommodated with existing staff.

While the vast majority of these projects – over 97% – are delivered on time and within budget there are always one or two projects that do not meet Council, staff and public expectations related to timing and/or the final product. Following Haldimand County’s philosophy of continuous improvement, Council has directed staff to review the capital project program and seek ways to maximize project successes.

As part of this directive, County staff will be reviewing ways to improve and strengthen the ability to meet these expectations by considering measures such as requiring contractor prequalification for more projects; increased penalties to contractors to enforce start and end dates for construction contracts; and, reviewing holdback types and amounts to ensure contractor performance.

It is anticipated that this review and implementation of appropriate changes to capital project contract management will further reduce the number of projects that are not delivered satisfactorily.