28% more York Region cops on this year’s Sunshine List

Yorkregion.com
March 31, 2016
By Jeremy Grimaldi

There’s been a 28-per-cent rise in the number of York Regional Police on the province’s Sunshine List.

Last year, there were 898 officers on the list. This year, that number jumped to 1,152, according to official 2015 statistics posted last week.

The two top earners are Chief Eric Jolliffe, who earned $279,992, and deputy chief Thomas Carrique at $238,727.

But York Regional Police Association boss Todd Sepkowski said residents may find that although the number of officers earning more than $100,000 - the requirement for the list – is rising, a portion might just be a blip.

“I’m sure that’s in relation to sick bank pay,” he said, noting because their sick bank payout has come to an end, it was the last year for officers to get paid out, which used to be done upon retirement.

Sepkowski added that directing anger against the police is unfair considering York Region has many of the top paid leaders in the country, including the director of education’s Jegan-Philip Parappally, who makes $281,836, Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti at $205,970 and $229,573 for regional chairperson Wayne Emmerson.

Sepkowski added that police, unlike others in the public sector, are forced to report their paid-duty, including the money they make from private functions such as weddings.