Jim Portside
April 7th, 2025
BURLINGTON, ON
Even more on that Sunshine list.
Three other Sunshine List entries are curious. We’re discussing salaries paid to real people so I will not use names.
Two of the three people stopped working for the city in 2023, the other person had retired.
The two people who stopped working for the city in 2023 are on the 2024 Sunshine List. In other words, they stopped working for the city in 2023 but earned over $100,000, from the city in 2024.
The person who is now retired started working for the city in 2001 and has never appeared on the Sunshine List. In 2024 this person is on the Sunshine List earning a little under $115,000. We came up with three explanations:
- Maybe this person earned less than $100,000 in 2023, maybe they received a 14+% raise in 2024 and retired at the end of the year.
- Maybe this person was let go in 2023 and received severance in 2024.
- Maybe this person was let go in 2024 and received severance to push their 2024 salary over $100,000.
- Maybe the city can provide an explanation?
It al takes place at City Hall.
The City will take the position that the information is related to a specific individual and is treated as private.
No matter how it is explained – it smells
For the two people who stopped working for the city in 2023. One received about $105,000 in salary in 2024; the other about $111,000 in 2024.
What happens when you include Brynn Nheiley, Sheila Jones, and Tim Commisso? Our calculations, based on the limited information available to the public, show this gang of 6 cost the city approximately $868,674.98
Our calculations, based on the limited information available to the public, show this gang of 6 cost the city approximately $868,674.98.
How are taxpayers, the people who provide most of the money needed to pay staff, faring?
Not all that well it appears.
The record indicates that 3% of taxpayers have outstanding tax bills, the highest level in 5 years.
Surprised the issue of not having public washrooms open at Spencer Smith on holidays early in 2024 due to cost of staff and yet staff who reputedly left city in 2023 make 2024 sunshine list has not been raised with Lisa Kearns.. Would have thought this is right up BRAG’s alley.
We believed one senior staff person retired in 2023. When we wanted to find her replacement for a meeting with Commisso and Hurley early 2024 we were told by city staff answering our query she was still there and we were put through to her city office and true enough although she personally advised she had retired she was still there and spoke to us about the issue.
We spoke to her and were told by her she was officially retired but told how to proceed to get the info we needed to hold the meeting which had a human rights element.
Where we both used to work in Hamilton when we arrived in Canada which was publicly funded senior staff were encouraged to retire in the 90s. They were then hired back for specific projects and sometimes the same job on contract without benefits. Could this be the case here?
The question would be how many if any senior staff who retired were hired back on contract which would not be any breach of Privacy. We have a right to know the answer.