Sunshine List shows only a portion of what GTA mayors actually take home

Fifteen GTA mayors hit the $100,000 mark needed to make the provincial list, but many earn far more than what is actually disclosed.

Thestar.com
April 15, 2018
By Noor Javed

When it comes to the top-paid mayors in the GTA, the Sunshine List may not be showing taxpayers the whole bill.

According to the annual public sector salary disclosure, released last month, 15 GTA mayors hit the $100,000 threshold needed to make the provincial list - with Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti once again taking the top spot in Ontario, pocketing $195,374 in 2017.

But a deeper look at the salaries on the Sunshine List shows that what many mayors disclose is only a portion of what they actually take home. And in some cases, even mayors whose names don't appear on the list make over $100,000 of taxpayers' dollars - because they also get income from their local municipality and the upper-tier municipality (York, Peel, Durham, and Halton regions.)

Some also get paid to sit on publicly funded boards, such as local conservation, electricity and police boards. And a handful of GTA mayors still benefit from a provision in the Municipal Act that allows them to declare a third of their income tax-free - and not disclose that portion to the province.
As a result, taxpayers looking for answers are left to muddle through various council reports to find out exactly how much their mayors make, and how they compare to others across the GTA.

"It's only when you combine regional remuneration with the local salary can you get an apples-to-apples comparison," said Steve Parish, the mayor of Ajax, who made $102,700 in 2017, according to the Sunshine List. That number, however, didn't include the income he made as a member of Durham Regional Council, where he earned an additional $55,000 in 2017. He admits "from a strict transparency point of view, you have to put the numbers together to get the straight goods."

A Star analysis of all GTA mayors found significant discrepancies between what appears on the Sunshine List and what they took home, ranging from a difference of a few hundred dollars to over $100,000.

The Star looked at all local municipal salaries, regional salaries and any pay mayors received from sitting on government boards. We did not include expenses, benefits, or pensions — which can tally up to tens of thousands of dollars.

Toronto Mayor John Tory was the only mayor in the GTA whose Sunshine List pay reflects his actual compensation.

And while Markham Mayor Scarpitti's salary on the Sunshine List includes his regional pay and city pay, it leaves out $7,800 he made from Markham District Energy and $48,000 he made on the board for Alectra, which was previously known as PowerStream, a local energy distribution company. His total taxpayer-funded compensation was over $250,000.

Lama Nicolas, a senior communications adviser to Scarpitti, said his "compensation has been known to the public, even during election years."

"Based on the election results, the residents of Markham seem satisfied with his performance," she said, adding his pay was higher this year due to a retroactive pay adjustment from 2016.

Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie made $139,374, according to the Sunshine List. She made an additional $55,161, for sitting on Peel Regional Council, and $48,000 for her position with Alectra and PowerStream. She also got $500 for sitting on the police board. This brings her grand total to more than $243,000.

A spokesperson for Crombie says she "respects taxpayer dollars" and elected to freeze her salary this term.

Vaughan Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua was a close third, after including his pay from Alectra (around $45,000), and Vaughan Energy Holdings for over $14,000 - bringing his total to about $243,000. Despite numerous requests to the city's media relations, they did not disclose how much the mayor made while he was on PowerStream for a month, prior it to becoming Alectra. He also makes another $110,000 as vice-chair of the virtual VersaBank. Bevilacqua previously told the Star he was donating those funds to charity.

The province says municipalities aren't breaking any rules by not disclosing everything mayors take home.

"Mayors are required to disclose employment income reported on their T4. In some cases, mayors may receive additional income from other positions that they hold (i.e. regional council, boards, etc.)," said Durga Thiru, a spokesperson for the Treasury Board Secretariat, which compiles the Sunshine List.

"Income from other positions does not have to be disclosed under the Public Sector Salary Disclosure if it does not meet the $100,000 threshold," Thiru said.

Markham resident Eira Keay, who recently calculated the total remuneration all elected officials in Markham made last year, believes municipalities need to be more transparent when disclosing pay, and make the numbers easily accessible to constituents.

"I had to really chase after city officials to get these numbers," she said. "Most people don't have time to do that."

She says she wishes the Sunshine List was "more complete."

"The way it is now, it doesn't fully tell taxpayers how their dollars are being used," she said.

Nor does it tell taxpayers if the mayors are even disclosing all of their base pay.

Newmarket is one of a handful of municipalities in the GTA where councillors continue to implement a provision in the Municipal Act that allows one-third of their municipal income to be tax free to cover expenses - and that portion isn't disclosed on the Sunshine List.

That's why Newmarket Mayor Tony Van Bynen's disclosure for the list was $120,393 (his regional pay plus his town salary) in 2017, when he actually made upwards of $150,000. Over $31,000 of the mayor's base was tax-free and thus not disclosed for the Sunshine List.

Other mayors who deduct a third from their salaries for expenses include Aurora, Whitby and Milton. All three mayors made the Sunshine List, but their full compensation is at least $30,000 more than what appeared on the list.

The mayors are expected to lose this provision in January 2019, after the federal government included a tax decision in last year's federal budget that would eliminate the one-third tax-free benefit for municipal councils. Some councils, like Halton Hills, plan to compensate for this loss by getting raises during the next council term.

Even if your mayor isn't on the Sunshine List, it doesn't necessarily mean they didn't meet the $100,000 mark last year. The Star found that a number of mayors, including those in Halton Hills, King, Pickering, Oshawa and Caledon, actually made more than $100,000 in total compensation when their regional and local pay was combined.

When pressed on why mayors don't disclose all their earnings even though they are taking home more than $100,000, a spokesman for Pickering Mayor David Ryan said the city "reports what is reflected in Box 14" of the mayor's T4 form.

"We are only responsible for reporting the City of Pickering's remunerations to the Ministry of Finance," said city spokesman Mark Guinto. "The Region of Durham and Veridian are responsible for reporting their own respective organizations."

Ryan made more than $159,600 last year when his municipal pay, regional pay and compensation for sitting on the board of the local energy provider, Veridian Connections, were combined.

"The city is very transparent with respect to mayor & council remuneration. It is discussed at the public budget meetings, and it is posted online once approved. In addition, every year, our local paper publishes the total remuneration of mayor and council. This information can easily be found online."