Including expenses, Coquitlam council was paid $1 million last year: financial report

A total of 138 Coquitlam employees earned at least $150,000 in 2025, including benefits and expenses.

There were 144 Coquitlam employees who took home at least $150,000 in 2024, and 65 who were paid at least $150,000 in 2023.

City councillors received a base salary of $84,699 along with $7,444 in taxable benefits in 2025. Mayor Richard Stewart was paid a salary of $212,467 with $13,592 in taxable benefits.

Expenses, which cover the costs of attending conferences, ranged from $705 accrued by Couns. Steve Kim and Robert Mazzarolo, to $11,162 incurred by Stewart.

Council expenses added up to a total of $47,011 last year.

Salaries, benefits, and expenses for mayor and council added up to $1.01 million in 2025.

Top salaries at city hall belonged to chief administrative officer Raul Allueva, who earned $424,000 in salary and benefits, general manager of engineering and public works Jamie Boan, who earned $340,000, and fire chief Jim Ogloff, who earned $342,000.

Corporate taxpayers

Four of the five biggest corporate taxpayers in Coquitlam own shopping centres.

Pensionfund Realty Ltd., the owner of the Coquitlam Centre, faced the biggest bill, paying $6.2 million.

The South Coast B.C. Transportation Authority paid the city $3.7 million on its parking lot and industrial property.

Loblaw, Sun Life Assurance, and Pinetree Village Holdings all paid between $2.1 and $3.3 million on their shopping centres.

Other notable property owners include Ikea, Lafarge, Great Canadian Gaming, and Onni Whiting Way Holdings Corp.

Permissive tax exemptions

The city allowed for approximately $2 million in permissive tax exemptions last year, ranging from $3,729 for the Talitha Koum Society to $227,903 for the Austin Heights Church.

The city also allowed exemptions adding up to $169,556 for the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Vancouver and $187,614 for the Nature Trust of B.C. Each organization has five locations.

The Burquitlam YMCA received a $292,831 exemption last year.

Debt

The city’s external debt is down to $8.7 million. Coquitlam’s hasn’t taken on any extra financial obligations since 2013.

The city’s external debt stems from several projects, including widening Coast Meridian Road, adding the Crouch and Harper reservoirs, as well as the City Centre pump station.

On a per capita basis, Coquitlam’s debt is down $86 in 2021 to $50 in 2025.

Top financial priorities

The city’s financial report listed the Burke Mountain Community Centre, the Planet Ice agreement renewal, as well as modernizing city’s handling of financial systems and technology as top priorities.

Coquitlam’s second group of priorities included designing the Fraser Mills Community Centre and establishing strategies for emergency and disaster management, festivals and events, and urban forest management.

Longer term priorities included the Blue Mountain Park master plan, the south extension of the Coquitlam Crunch, the Glen Park renewal, and the Hazel-Coy/Burke Mountain Creek neighbourhood plan.

Gravel money

The city’s gravel pit fund is nowvalued at $778,000.

The fund was established after J. Cewe Park Development contributed $600,000 to the city for the future restoration and park development of a former gravel pit along Pipeline Road.

The fund has been earning interest since the early 1990s.