Former Simcoe County warden George Cornell, current Warden Basil Clarke and and former deputy warden Lynn Dollin top the list of highest paid members of county council last year.
According to the 2023 council remuneration report, Cornell, the former mayor of Tiny Township, was paid $91,082 during his time as warden in 2022, while also accumulating $12,112 in council-related expenses and $2,121 in corporate expenses.
Dollin, who is also the mayor of Innisfil, was paid $52,993 for her role as deputy warden last year, and also had $4,465 in council expenses and $3,857 in corporate expenses.
Of Collingwood's representatives on county council, former Councillor and Deputy Mayor Mariane McLeod took home the most last year bringing in $14,137.89 with no council or corporate expenses. Former Deputy Mayor Keith Hull, who took over the mayor’s seat officially in July, earned $11,901.30 with $112.24 in council expenses and $779.79 in corporate expenses.
Former Mayor Brian Saunderson earned $7,844.99 in 2022 for his county role, with $537.57 in corporate expenses. Saunderson took a leave of absence from his role to run for Simcoe-Grey MPP for the Progressive Conservatives in April, and officially stepped down from the mayor and county councillor position on June 6 following his win of the seat.
New Mayor Yvonne Hamlin and Deputy Mayor Tim Fryer each earned $1,422.23 in 2022 for their county work after being elected in October.
Sylvia Bray, Wasaga Beach's former deputy-mayor, was the third highest paid member of county council in 2022, receiving remuneration totalling $24,618. She also submitted $6,916 in council expenses and $1,702 in corporate expenses.
Jennifer Coughlin, who at the time served as deputy-mayor of Springwater Township, was paid $22,801 for her role as a county councillor, and submitted $2,688 in council expenses as well as $1,547 in corporate expenses. Coughlin was elected Springwater mayor in the October 2022 municipal election and currently serves as the county's deputy warden.
Ramara Township Mayor Basil Clarke earned $18,489 in 2022 and had $1,990 in council expenses and $1,217 in corporate expenses in 2022. He was elected as the new warden in December.
“The county is required to issue an annual itemized statement of the remuneration and expenses paid to each member of council in respect to his or her services as a member of council or an officer of the municipal corporation,” treasurer Lealand Sibbick explained in a report presented during Tuesday's committee of the whole meeting.
Costs listed under council-related expenses include mileage and the costs associated with county councillors attending conferences, training, meetings, and other travel expenses, Sibbick noted in the report, while corporate expenses include payments made on behalf of members of council from the public purse, which would include statutory and insurance benefits.
The report also included remuneration and expenses paid to appointees on the Simcoe Muskoka Board of Health as well as council appointees.
“In addition, if any body, including a local board, pays remuneration or expenses to one of its members who was appointed by a municipality, the body shall on or before Jan. 31 in the following year provide to the municipality, an itemized statement of the remuneration and expenses paid for the year,” stated Sibbick in the report, noting all expenditures for remuneration and expenses have been reflected within the 2022 fiscal year.
Simcoe County council includes the mayors and deputy-mayors from each of the 16 towns and townships. Barrie and Orillia are separated cities and do not have seats on county council, although both municipalities have representation on various committees.
In total, the county paid $742,473 in salaries to members of council, as well as various board appointees, while seeing $79,145 in council expenses and $34,625 in corporate expenses in 2022.
