Sunshine List reveals King Township’s top public-sector earners in 2018

List jumps to 21 members in 2018

Yorkregion.com
April 25, 2019
Sheila Wang

More public employees in King Township made the 2018 Sunshine List of six-figure earners than the previous year.

A total of 21 staff members made the cut last year, increased from 18 in 2017, according Ontario’s Sunshine List released on March 27.

Former chief administrative officer Susan Plamondon has again topped the annual list for her salary of over $195,000 in 2018, an increase by $3,000 from the year before.

Plamondon, a long-serving employee in King, retired at the end of March, and was replaced by the new CAO Daniel Kostopoulos in April, yorkregion.com reported.

Allan Evelyn, director of finance and treasurer, who earned over $159,000, ranked second highest among his fellow staffers in King last year.

Evelyn was closely followed by Andrzej Drzewiecki, director of engineering, public Works and building, who earned close to $156,000.

Next on the list was manager of roads Steven Gillies who made about $145,000 last year, slightly higher than what clerk Moyle Kathryn received, about $144,00.

While no council members have made more than $100,000 for their service in King, Mayor Steve Pellegrini did make the Sunshine List, but for his other job in another city.

It shows that Pellegrini received $132,656 for his full-time job as a manager of the project management office with the City of Brampton in 2018.

“I work extremely hard,” Pellegrini said. “I work 35 hours for the City of Brampton and I take vacation and lieu time, or off time without pay for my job in King. I’ve never missed council meeting or the committee of the whole meetings in 19 years.”

The mayor who has worked with Brampton for 29 years says he directly oversees 16 project managers in the office. Before that, he had worked for the City of Mississauga for almost nine years.

Pellegrini spent well above 35 hours for both jobs, he said.

“I get up and I leave my house at 6 in the morning and I don’t return till 11 at night every single day.”

Pellegrini was paid $49,000 last year for King’s top political job and another $57,000 for sitting on York Regional Council, according to records provided by the treasurer.

The rest of the previous council made a little over $27,000 plus $1,600 payroll benefits last year, except Linda Pabst and Cleve Mortelliti who were replaced before the end of 2018.

Pabst and Mortelliti each received $26,000 last year.

Meanwhile, the Sunshine List shows that Rebecca Mathewson, the township’s manager of financial planning and reporting, had $12,456 taxable benefit, the highest among all 21 list-makers.

She made over $105,000 for her first full year of service with King.

Mathewson joined the township in December 2017 after working with Georgina for almost nine years.

The Public Salary Disclosure Act, brought in under Mike Harris’ Progressive Conservative government in 1996, requires organizations that receive public funding from the province to annually disclose the names, positions, salaries and total taxable benefits of employees paid $100,000 or more in a calendar year.

It is commonly known as the Sunshine List since its intent was to shine light on top earners in Ontario’s public service, including those working for provincial and municipal governments, hospitals, school boards, police and fire departments.

Go to ontario.ca for the complete Sunshine List.