Financial Plan
The Local Government Act requires the City of Coquitlam to complete a Five-Year Financial Plan and Budget each year. The Financial Plan ensures responsible money management and relates directly to the priorities identified by the community.
Purpose of the Financial Plan
The Financial Plan helps ensure that the City is accountable to Coquitlam’s taxpayers by providing City staff with clear direction on spending levels for each defined priority, and the authority to pay for services for Coquitlam residents.
How the City Develops a Financial Plan
Developing the Financial Plan is a complex, months-long process. It begins with strategic planning and includes public consultation, extensive background briefings for Council and comprehensive discussion sessions that culminates in a proposed Five-Year Financial Plan for Council approval.
Part of this process also includes City departments and cultural partner presentations to Council at Finance Standing Committee Meetings.
Using this as a basis, each department develops a work plan, with resource needs identified. Guided by the Strategic Plan and Business Plan, this approach to financial planning provides for a thorough, strategic focus in the budget deliberations.
To learn more about how municipal tax dollars support City services and the public assets essential to those services, see the section below entitled ‘Interactive Ways to View City Data’ to learn more about where your tax dollars go. See also: 2025 Budget – Property Taxes Explained (PDF)
Metro Vancouver Budget Impacts
A significant portion of the City's utility budgets is paid to Metro Vancouver to cover the costs of the regional supply and sewer systems, including water and sewerage treatment plants.
Metro Vancouver’s North Shore Waste Water Treatment Plant, a new regional liquid waste treatment facility that is required to comply with mandatory federal treatment regulations and meet the needs of a growing region, is faced with a significant project cost increase.
The total cost of the project is now $3.86 billion, which includes an additional $2.8 billion required to complete the project. These additional funds are to be incorporated into Metro Vancouver's 2025 – 2029 Financial Plan and cost shared amongst the four regional sewerage areas. This cost increase is expected to have a significant impact on the City’s Sewer and Drainage operating budget. For more information, please visit: Understanding Metro Vancouver’s Budget and North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant Program.
Public Input on the City’s Budget
Public participation in the annual budget planning process helps:
- Ensure the City’s budget reflects the community’s current wants and needs.
- Inform the community on how city budgets are created and how property tax dollars are spent.
- The City balance individual needs, alongside the needs of a growing community while delivering on key priorities and projects in a measured way, especially during times of economic uncertainty.
From September 1 to 15, Coquitlam residents and businesses were able to participate in the budget planning process for 2025 through a short online survey. Thank you to everyone who participated and shared their feedback in the budget planning survey. The results of the 2025 Budget Survey can be found in our 2025 Budget What We Heard Infographic (PDF).
Once approved, the 2025 budget will be posted on this webpage.
2024 – 2028 Financial Plan | A Blueprint for a Growing City
On December 4, 2023 Mayor Richard Stewart provided introductory comments (PDF) and a presentation (PDF) prior to Council consideration of the 2024-2028 Five Year Financial Plan Bylaw. The 2024 Water, Sewer, Drainage and Solid Waste Rate Amendments (PDF) was also considered on December 4, 2023.
See also: Information Bulletin issued on December 5, 2023 entitled “Coquitlam Budget Strives to Deliver on Priorities Amid Uncertainty“.
The City’s Annual Tax Rates are adopted after the BC Assessment Authority information on property values becomes available.
Interactive Ways to View City Data
Want to learn more about where your tax dollars go? The City of Coquitlam has made available a data visualization tool called Coquitlam OpenBook for the public to easily view information about City budgets and spending. Check the tool to view:
- Annual Expenses (the City’s most recent audited financial statement data)
- Capital Budgets (breakdown of the 5-year capital budget down to the project level)
- Operating Budgets (breakdown of the operating budget down to the business unit)
- Project Explorer (a highlight of select new and ongoing projects)
- Use Coquitlam OpenBook to share informational text and clickable maps, charts and graphs, and uses search and filter functions to explore topics that interest you for more detailed information.
Feel free to provide us with your feedback.