Money talks: Who's-who of York Region's 2022 Sunshine List -- mayors, teachers, police officers, nurses

Charts to help make sense of taxpayer dollars and cents

Yorkregion.com
April 21, 2023
Amanda Persico

Using $100,000 as the benchmark, the province’s annual public sector list -- the sunshine list -- is chockful of the usual suspects: mayors, managers, chief administrative officers (CAOs) and directors.

And that’s not all.

The recently released annual list of who-makes-what also includes a slew of teachers, police officers and nurses.

MAYORS:

Once again, Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti is the top earning mayor in the region -- earning more than $288,000 including benefits -- about 12.5 per cent higher than York Region chairperson and CEO Wayne Emmerson.

Based on population, Scarpitti is near the bottom of the per-resident salary list, earning less than $1 for every Markham resident.

At the top of the per-resident salary list, Mayor Steve Pellegrini earned more than $6 per King Township resident.

MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES:

More than 2,000 municipal employees from across all nine municipalities earned more than $100,000 in 2022. That also includes close to 60 municipal employees who earned north of $200,000.

Vaughan has the highest number of ‘sunshine’ employees, along with the highest number of fire personnel and employees earning more than $200,000 -- 696, 280 and 24 respectively.

There was a 17.5 per cent increase in Whitchurch-Stouffville’s sunshine list employees compared to 2022 -- the highest increase in the region.

Firefighters across the region made up about 40 per cent of those earning $100,000 or more in 2022.

At the region, more than 1,800 employees earned more than $100,000 last year, including 31 employees who earned more than $200,000.

More than 1,600 York Regional Police employees made the 2022 sunshine list, of which nearly three-quarters were police officers.

HOSPITALS:

More than 1,800 hospital employees earned more than $100,000 last year from across the region -- close to 58 per cent were nurses.

Forty-five hospital employees earned more than $200,000 last year.

President and CEO of Mackenzie Health Richmond Hill and Cortellucci Vaughan hospitals earned the most with about $630,000 including benefits; followed by Southlake Regional Health Centre president and CEO Andrea Krystal with $532,000; and Oak Valley Health president Jo-Ann Marr earned about $424,000.

Of the three hospital organizations, Mackenzie Health had the most employees who earned more than $200,000 -- 21 -- as well as 10 employees who earned more than $300,000.

The top paid nurse earned $219,000 last year.

More than 4,700 York Region District School Board employees earned more than $100,000, compared to more than 2,300 in the York Catholic District School Board.

In both school boards, elementary and secondary school teachers made up nearly 90 per cent of ‘sunshine’ earners.

In the public school board, six employees earned more than $200,000 in 2022, including retired director of education Louise Sirisko as well as an elementary school and a secondary school principal.

The highest paid elementary school teacher at the public board earned about $149,000 compared to the highest paid secondary school teacher with about $145,000.

At the Catholic school board, two employees earned more than $200,000: director of education, Dominic Scuglia and former associate director Eugene Pivato.

The highest paid elementary school teacher at the Catholic board earned about $130,000, compared to the highest paid secondary school teacher with about $182,000.