More on my @LondonIncMag Sept cover story on @PSDintelligence #LdnOnt

Every homeowner has a list – an ever-changing series of tasks that need to be done in the house or the yard. Reminders pop up weekly, and you promise yourself you’ll find the time to fix it, install it, paint it or ditch it. There’s always something new to replace a task you’ve completed. 

            Now imagine you’re in charge of a city’s infrastructure. Everywhere you go, you’re reminded of things that need fixing, renovating or replacing. There are roads, bridges, parks, rec centres, libraries, sewer systems and countless other categories.

            And it’s not just your family relying on you to get things done around the house. You’ve got a whole community, not to mention an elected council, asking why there are still potholes on a given street in early May; when city-owned pools will open; why the grass hasn’t been cut at a local soccer field.

            Increasingly, the questions are about how your city is coping with the effects of climate change. 

            It’s a lot to consider with an almost limitless series of shifting variables affecting decisions. London-based PSD (Public Service Digest) assists more than 450 municipalities across Canada, more than a third of them in Ontario, to set priorities and make decisions. Not only that, it offers custom software and apps that help municipalities of any size to understand the larger effects of accelerating or delaying spending in a given area. 

            Thinking of replacing the ice pad in the rec centre two years ahead of schedule? That could mean hockey families will drive on a bumpier road getting there. The trade-offs are complicated, which is why so many towns and cities – but not the city of London, ironically – have turned to PSD for help. 

            As you can read in my London Inc. magazine cover story this month, the family-owned business is expanding to provide other services, including financial planning and accounting, and now operates in Burlington and Victoria. With 50 employees in London and nearly 80 overall, it is looking south of the border too, where the opportunities and risks are greater.