The City’s annual budget is part of 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.
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The 2021 budget maintains the City’s focus on getting the basis right – core municipal services – and recognizes the pandemic’s financial impact on local property owners.
The average home assessed at $779,501 will see a 2.13% ($41.17) increase in taxes this year coupled with the elimination of the $25 parcel tax collected for the past four years to help fund the Port Coquitlam Community Centre Construction, and investments in services requested by residents. The prudent budget will come on the heels of a zero per cent tax increase in 2020 for the average home, the result of a budget recalculation shortly after the pandemic hit with the intent to support residential and business property owners.
Council has selected three priorities to guide the City’s budget and service delivery from 2020 to 2022:
The priorities are based on community feedback received throughout the year and through the annual budget survey and other public consultation.
Overall, the focus of the priorities is on getting the basics right – planning and providing core municipal services (such as roads, utilities and other infrastructure, safety and recreation) that matter to residents and businesses. Read more about Council’s 2020-2022 priorities.
Other Factors:
Overall, the 2021 proposed operating budget reflects Council’s desire for affordable, efficient and effective city operations while investing in key community needs.
The draft budget will carry through on Council priorities such as increased bylaw enforcement, enhancing the downtown and planning for climate change, along with some enhancements to core services – such as increased snow clearing, parks maintenance and litter collection – that residents have been asking for and have grown in importance in the past year.
Similar to past years, the draft budget also plans for an infrastructure levy, the equivalent of one per cent of the tax increase, to support future infrastructure replacement.
The average home assessed at $779,501 will see a 2.13% ($41.17) increase in taxes this year, taking into consideration that starting in 2021, properties no longer have to pay the $25 parcel tax for the Port Coquitlam Community Centre.
Pay Monthly
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How We Compare
In 2020, Port Coquitlam had the third lowest municipal property taxes for an average representative single-family home out of 21 Metro Vancouver municipalities.
A property’s assessed value determines its share of taxes. The assessments provided by BC Assessment each January indicate how much Port Coquitlam property assessments increased or decreased from the prior year.
Properties whose value has increased or decreased more than other typical properties of the same type will experience a tax rate that differs from the average.
We will post the new average change for Port Coquitlam residential assessments here in early January.
This is how your annual City property taxes and levies are applied to a wide variety of important services and programs.
All City services and programs are reflected in the business plans developed annually by each department. Each plan includes the following sections:
Please note that these plans may change based on budgeting decisions.
The public is invited to comment year-round on the City's Financial Planning process through:
Tel 604.927.5280
Email budget@portcoquitlam.ca
City Hall, 1st Floor
2580 Shaughnessy Street
Port Coquitlam BC V3C 2A8
Business Hours: 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, Monday to Friday (excluding statutory holidays)
