Ontario’s sunshine list gives us another peek into the pocketbooks of Windsor’s highest paid public sector employees. From hospital CEOs to the firefighters, we take another look at the men and women getting the most taxpayer dollars in 2014.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Municipalities throughout Essex County have about 700 employees who made the sunshine list. Windsor has, by far, the highest number with about 550 people making more than $100,000 in 2014. Of those, 53 employees were new to this year’s list.
CAO Helga Reidel once again brought in the largest amount at $267,225. She was followed by police chief Al Frederick, who earned $200,251.
COUNTY
LaSalle had 44 people on the list, including chief administrative officer Kevin Miller who earned $183,966, while Amherstburg had 27 people.
FIREFIGHTERS
Windsor’s fire department went from having about 60 employees earning more than $100,000 in 2013 to more than 220 employees bringing in that kind of cash.
Fire chief Bruce Montone said more than 160 firefighters made the list due to retroactive pay going back to 2010. Montone, who earned $146,925, says the number will fall next year once the salaries return to regular annual income levels.
POLICE
There were 111 constables, 24 detectives, 64 sergeants and 19 staff sergeants making over $100,000 this year.
Al Frederick, chief of police, said many of those constables earn overtime for court appearances that fall at times they’re not working. He added some police work special events such as proms or charity walks that are paid for by the organization, not tax dollars.
SCHOOL DISTRICTS
The highest paid principal among both school districts was Victoria Houston, earning about $153,951. The previous year she was listed as acting superintendent of education, which bumped her higher than most secondary principals.
THE COURTS
Crown attorney Natalino Bernardon earned $211,252 in 2014, while 20 assistant crown attorneys earned anywhere from $100,000 to $200,000. Justices of the Peace in Windsor made about $130,000. Judges made about $292,000.
HEALTH CARE
Primary care physician Darin Peterson fell out of the top-salary slot this year. Working with the Windsor Family Health Team, he brought in $326,200, which was a drop from the $380,174 he earned in 2013.
Terry Shields earned $220,109 as CEO of Leamington District Memorial Hospital.
POST-SECONDARY
Hoda El Maraghy was the top-paid professor at the University of Windsor, earning about $258,969. The engineering professor also acts as Canada Research Chair.
- With files from Carolyn Thompson
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