Eleven Northumberland County Directors/CAO Receive Combined Total of Over $200,000 Increase in Salary for One Year

Pete Fisher
1 week ago
• Categories: City Hall, Local

Eleven high ranking officials with Northumberland County have received over $200,000 increase in one year according to this years Sunshine List.

Today’s Northumberland looked into increases between 2023/2024 for several Directors with Northumberland County.

2024

Jennifer Moore, CAO Moore $265,479.99

Mast Darrell $176,140.64 (County Lawyer)

· Tom Walton, Prosecutor $104,830.25

· Bobbie Arbuckle, Prosecutor

Kate Campbell, Director of Communications and IT $175,873.60

Lisa Ainsworth, Director of Corporate Services $175,940.80

· Hitanshu Chodha, Associate Director of IT $162,221.75

Dwayne Campbell, Director of Economic Development $150,778.18

Matthew Nitsch, Director of Finance/Treasurer $159,490.47

Glenn Dees, Director of Health & Human Services Team $199,868.20

· Rebecca Carman, Associate Director Housing & Homelessness $140,094.94

Susan Brown, Chief Northumberland Paramedics $181,868.86

Denise Marshall, Director of Public Works $185,411.80

Carol Coleman, Associate Director of Engineering $123,114.57

Adam McCue, Associate Director Operations $156,662.95

 

2023
Jennifer Moore, CAO Moore 221,260.64

Mast Darrell County Lawyer $153,796.79

· Tom Walton, Prosecutor

· Bobbie Arbuckle, Prosecutor

Kate Campbell, Director of Communications and IT $158,610.32

Lisa Ainsworth, Director of Corporate Services $171,848.23

· Hitanshu Chodha, Associate Director of IT $

Dwayne Campbell, Director of Economic Development $131,819.62

Matthew Nitsch, Director of Finance/Treasurer $142,584.10

Glenn Dees, Director of Health & Human Services Team $179,161.73

· Rebecca Carman, Associate Director Housing & Homelessness $117,545.05

Susan Brown, Chief Northumberland Paramedics $166,976.19

Denise Marshall, Director of Public Works $168,573.94

Carol Coleman, Associate Director of Engineering $

Adam McCue, Associate Director Operations $147,334.39

 

One Year Difference Between 2023/2024

Jennifer Moore increase $44, 219.35

Mast Darrell County Lawyer increase $22, 343.85

Kate Campbell increase $17,262.93

Lisa Ainsworth increase $4,092.57

Dwayne Campbell increase $18,958.56

Matthew Nitsch increase $16,906.37

Glenn Dees increase $20,706.47

Rebecca Carman $22,549.89

Susan Brown increase $14,892.67

Denise Marshall increase $16,837.86

Adam McCue increase $9,328.56

Total for 11 employees increase in one year is $208,099.08

 

Northumberland County Response

Salary adjustments between 2023 and 2024 for the employees identified were due to a variety of factors including:

1. Role changes (promotions)
2. Vacation payouts (for vacation time not taken)
3. Special Purposes Pay for temporary assignment of additional duties outside of job scope
4. Merit and/or cost of living increases
5. The outcomes of a 2023 comparator compensation review and any related retroactive.  In 2023, as part of measures to strengthen recruitment and retention in response to sector-wide human resource shortages, County Council directed staff to retain a third party to undertake an updated non-union comparator compensation review. With the last review undertaken in 2015, the goal was to assess and ensure the County remained a competitive option for employment relative to municipal employers in neighbouring areas.

 

The comparator group includes a dozen municipalities in the region who feasibly recruit from the same pool of potential employees as the County. This includes:

1. Quinte West
2. City of Peterborough
3. Town of Pickering
4. Town of Brantford
5. Municipality of Clarington
6. Town of Ajax
7. Town of Whitby
8. Durham Region
9. Prince Edward County
10. County of Lennox & Addington
11. County of Hastings
12. County of Peterborough

As a matter of policy, County staff are compensated at the 60^th percentile of the comparator group.  Findings of the 2023 review confirmed that County salaries overall were 8.6% below this rate. Council approved a one-time increase of 5.9% for non-union positions that were 5% or more below the 60^th percentile, towards realignment of the salary grid with comparator municipalities.

Quote from Warden Ostrander:

“Council values the work of municipal employees and recognizes the importance of having strong, skilled, and qualified leaders in place to tackle the many challenges facing Ontario’s municipalities. These challenges include issues such as the availability and affordability of housing, fiscal and economic pressures, the evolving health care and social service demands of an aging population, and the ongoing system changes needed to ensure the sustainability of services for the future. This requires a diverse workforce to support essential services like infrastructure engineering, long-term care, paramedicine, land use planning, waste management, financial management, IT systems, and more.

Council takes its responsibility for setting direction on compensation very seriously. This includes carefully considering factors such as current market trends, County-specific requirements, and the overarching need for responsible fiscal management.

That is why Council has set staff compensation at the 60th percentile of the municipal comparator group – to ensure competitive compensation that attracts and retains the qualified professionals needed for these complex operations, while maintaining fiscal responsibility.”