Coquitlam approves 6.8% tax hike

The owner of an average house in Coquitlam will pay about $4,400 in municipal taxes in 2025 – an increase of $301 from last year, following a unanimous vote from council Monday.

An average Coquitlam house is assessed at approximately $1.35 million.

The 6.83 percent property tax bump – which works out to about $175 – is about $35 less than last year’s tax hike. However, homeowners will be on the hook for an extra $126 for utilities in 2025, double last year’s increase, in part due to the escalating cost of the North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant, noted Mayor Richard Stewart.

“That project alone is responsible for a 10 percent increase in Coquitlam’s sewer and drainage rages,” Stewart said Monday.

The projected cost of the plant is about $3.86 billion – more than triple the 2020 budget. In 2025, Coquitlam is set to chip in $5.5 million for the plant in 2025 as part of a 15-year annual levy.

While the cost of solid waste is up one percent and the price of water is ticking up by four percent, residents will pay an extra 16 percent for sewer and drainage.

The increase would have reached 20 percent if the city hadn’t opted to use operating contingency funds to lessen the impact, Stewart said.

While reading prepared remarks on Monday, Stewart emphasized the importance of balancing between: “Limiting new spending while ensuring critical services are maintained.”

One of those critical services is public safety, Stewart added.

Coquitlam’s 2025 budget includes funding for a community safety advisor and four new RCMP officers. Last year’s budget provided for 10 new firefighters and nine new RCMP officers.

“This investment, an ongoing investment, underscores our unwavering commitment to maintaining a safe and resilient community,” Stewart said.

In total, Coquitlam’s 2025 budget is $711 million, an increase of $136 million from last year.

Due to the “growing funding gap,” the budget sets aside one percent for infrastructure renewal, according to a city staff report.

As of 2022, Coquitlam was facing an annual infrastructure gap of $23.2 million.

“Growth brings demands for more infrastructure, services, and public safety measures. These are costs we can’t defer,” Stewart said.

Besides major costs such as a new rec centre and park on Burke Mountain, Coquitlam has also invested in more low- and no-cost recreation programs to ensure residents at all income levels can benefit, Stewart said.

“This budget is more than dollars and cents. It’s a plan for a safe, vibrant and sustainable future.”

Coquitlam provides tax exemptions to 49 properties including places of worship, residential care facilities, non-profit organizations and recreational lands. Those exemptions have an approximate value of $1.77 million.