2023-2027 Financial Plan

Two days ago the city of Port Coquitlam published its 2023 budget at a glance which not only outlines 2023's proposed budget but a "five-year financial plan that sets out the planned services and initiatives for the next five years, and how the City will pay for them."

At the most basic level the proposed budget will entail an increase of 3.38 per cent, which equates to roughly $105 for the average home; this includes both property taxes and utilities.

The 2023 Budget

The city has stated that council priorites for 2023 are: saftey, housing, and infrastructure.

Specifically the city had this to say about their proposed budget:

"Our 2023 draft budget builds upon the responsible and focused approach that Port Coquitlam has become known for. It continues to prioritize getting the basics right by investing in core municipal services, while also supporting a number of community priorities such as public safety, housing, transportation and infrastructure improvements, downtown revitalization, and climate change adaptation."

Planned Enhancements

The city has reinforced that all objective enhancements should be seen through the lens of their ongoing slogan focus 'getting the basics right.' They claim this means "planning and providing core municipal services (such as roads, utilities and other infrastructure, safety and recreation) that matter to residents and businesses."

Their current list of projects includes:

1. Enhancing safety including two new RCMP officers, two new firefighters and continuing enhancements to City cybersecurity,
2. Supporting new housing with resources to manage increased volumes of development applications and speeding up approvals, including electronic plan submissions,
3. Additional support to managing important capital and transportation projects, including completion of the Master Transportation Plan,
4. Increasing customer service to meet higher levels of demand at the Port Coquitlam Community Centre,
5. Preparing for climate change, including flood-protection infrastructure, adoption of a new Climate Action Plan, and increasing the tree canopy, and
6. Continuing to set aside funds to replace aging infrastructure

But where do your taxes and levies go?

Luckily for residents of Poco the city has created a user friendly infographic to outline all the details..

Taxpayer Impact

The City has also provided a detailed breakdown of how the budget will impact taxpayers:

"Broken down, the City’s proposed 3.38 per cent increase for 2023 taxes and utilities for average homes assessed at $967,000 includes:

• A property tax increase of 3.73 per cent ($76.14) consisting of 2.28 per cent for City services, one per cent for long-term infrastructure replacement, and 0.45 per cent increases to RCMP contracted policing costs,
• A solid waste levy increase of 3.69 per cent ($8.81) for single-family homes receiving City waste collection; and
• Utility levy increases of 2.81 per cent ($13.61) for water services and 1.97 per cent ($6.95) for sewer services, included in the utility bills mailed to homes last week.

A 3.73 per cent increase for business taxes and utilities is also proposed, consistent with residential."

Have Your Say!

Residents have until March 26th to provide their feedback and input on the budget.

Click here to take an online survey providing budget feedback

Click here to sign up for Talk Poco! The cities public engagement tool which will provide additional information and ways to give feedback.

Or contact the department directly:

Tel 604.927.5280
Email [email protected]

Click here for more information, including the 2023-2024 Capital Program