COQUITLAM, B.C., June 6, 2024 – Coquitlam has released its 2024 – 2028 Financial Plan, a comprehensive publication that details the 2024 five-year financial plan adopted by Council.
Fiscal responsibility is foundational to the City’s operations. Coquitlam’s Financial Plan public book offers insight into upcoming strategies, priorities and expenditures, reflecting our commitment to transparency, accountable governance and community engagement.
A Changing Financial Landscape
This year, Coquitlam is navigating an ever-changing financial landscape, with rising operational costs and new provincial legislation downloading costs onto municipalities. Most notably, in late 2023 the Province enacted significant legislative changes affecting a range of policy areas, including housing regulation and development financing. These changes necessitate fundamental adjustments in how the City plans for, supports, and funds growth and development in the community. There is still much uncertainty surrounding this legislation and its impacts, but as more information becomes available, the City’s Capital Funding Framework, including the supporting programs, bylaws, policies, and funding strategies, will be amended to align with the new legislation.
Despite these challenges, the City is committed to the sound stewardship of critical community infrastructure, public safety and ensuring that the current and future needs of Coquitlam are met without compromising the quality and reliability of our core services.
Financial Goals Guided by Community Priorities and Integrated Planning Process
Coquitlam is dedicated to ensuring the priorities of its residents and businesses are reflected in the work undertaken across the organization. The Financial Plan aligns with Coquitlam's Business Plan, which, in turn, aligns with the City's Strategic Plan.
The City's work for 2024 revolves around four overarching Business Plan themes: Community Safety; Housing Affordability and Supply; Equity, Diversity and Inclusion; and Reconciliation. These themes have been identified as critical within our community and, consequently, guide our work, influence our spending decisions, and shape the programs and services the City delivers to our community.
Through the Financial Plan public book, the City aims to provide a clear understanding of the 2024 budget details, as well as the key financial goals and priorities that have been identified through the annual budget process, which includes input provided by members of the community. It also showcases Coquitlam’s integrated planning process, financial policies and strategies that serve as the City’s operating blueprint.
In addition to the public book, Coquitlam also provides a detailed overview of the City’s budgets and spending through OpenBook, the City’s data visualization tool, at coquitlam.openbook.questica.com.
How the City Develops a Financial Plan
The Local Government Act requires all B.C. municipalities to complete a forward-looking Five-Year Financial Plan each year. The development of the Financial Plan is a complex, months-long process that begins with strategic planning and includes public consultation, extensive background briefings for Council and comprehensive discussion sessions that culminate in a proposed Five-Year Financial Plan for Council approval.
Using this as a base, work plans are developed for each department, with resource needs identified to maintain or improve civic services provided in the community. Together with the Strategic Plan and Business Plan, this integrated approach to financial planning provides for a thorough, strategic focus in the budget deliberations to establish a budget that meets the community’s needs and priorities.
For more information, see coquitlam.ca/FinancialPlan.
Media Contact
Gorana Cabral
Director Finance
604-927-3030
FinancialPlanning@coquitlam.ca