Bluewater Health President Mike Lapaine tops the Sunshine List in Lambton County.
Since 1996, the province has released information about people making more than $100,000 under the Ontario Public Salary Disclosure Act. When the legislation was introduced, the intent was to make government more transparent.
The 2018 list shows Lapaine made $322,145 plus $10,2000 in benefits. That’s a seven per cent increase from his $300,030 salary in 2017.
There were 118 other Bluewater Health employees on the list.
At the County of Lambton, the Medical Officer of Health Sudit Ranade made the most in 2018 with $294,258 – an eight per cent increase over 2017. The county’s CAO, Ron VanHorne made $209,259 – a 1.9 per cent increase. There were 39 county employees on the $100,000 list.
In education, Lambton College President Judith Morris tops the list with a salary of $273,449 – an eight per cent increase of about $20,700 from 2017.
The two directors of education are next with public director Jim Costello earning $223,373 – a $17,000 increase over 2017 – and Catholic director Deb Crawford $219,511. Crawford, who was a superintendent in 2017, took a $36,268 pay cut in 2018 when she became director of education.
There are 463 educators in Lambton on the list.
St. Clair Township had the most Sunshine List members in the municipal sector in Central Lambton. CAO John Rodey topped the list of eight earning $144,610. The township spent about $1.8 million in salaries alone for the top administrators.
Plympton-Wyoming has two administrators earning over $100,000, the CAO Carolyn Tripp at $136,829 and the director of public works Adam Sobanski at $100,601.
Petrolia’s CAO/Treasurer Rick Charlebois also made the list at $128,713 – significantly more than the previous CAO. The town didn’t hire a new treasurer when Charlebois became CAO and changes to the administrative staff, including the elimination of one director saved about $55,000, according to Charlebois at budget time.
Four municipalities had nothing to report under the salary disclosure act, Brooke-Alvinston, Dawn-Euphemia, Warwick and Oil Springs.
For the first time, Enniskillen Township made the list with its roads superintendent, Mike Cummings.
Also on the Sunshine List, Sarnia Lambton MPP Bob Bailey, who earned $129,521 in 2018. Lambton-Kent-Middlesex MPP Monte McNaughton – who became a cabinet minister after the June election – earned $148,545.
Premier Doug Ford earned $112,770 for his first six months on the job.