CAO tops sunshine list of city employees
By Greg Kielec The city’s chief administrative officer leads the list of Cornwall employees on Ontario’s sunshine list of $100,000-plus earners in 2011. City Chief Administrative Officer Paul Fitzpatrick raked in $183,079.70 plus $1,924.14 in benefits, according to a list re- leased Friday by the Ontario Ministry of Finance. There are 45 city employees who earned more than $100,000 last year, according to the provincial document Coming second on the list is Cornwall Police Chief Dan Parkinson, who took in $152,650 plus $7,129 in benefits, closely followed by Deputy Chief Danny Aikman, who earned $142,332 plus $5,129 in bene- fits. Tied for fourth on the list are city public works manager Norm Levac and city planner Stephen Alexander, who each earned $137,017 plus $3,303 in benefits last year. City finance manager Maureen Adams nailed down fifth spot on the list with $133,591 in salary and $3,265 in benefits last year. Former lodge head and former city HR manager also on list of plus $100K earners The city of Cornwall has taken a huge plunge in a magazine survey of the best places to live in Canada. Cornwall, which had placed 90th last year, plunged to 167th in Canada’s Best Places to Live 2012 survey by MoneySense magazine. Chamber ‘somewhat suspect’ of Canada’s Best Places to Live 2012 numbers By Greg Kielec
File photos Donna Derouchie, who left her position as administrator at Glen Stor Dun Lodge in July 2011 still made the sunshine list of gov- ernment employees who earned more than $100,000 last year. Former city human resources manager Robert Menagh, who was fired by the city in January, also made the sunshine list.
charge against him was dropped when the city pleaded guilty in October 2011. Follow @gkielec on Twitter. For breaking news, go to www.editionap.ca and click on The Journal. Email greg.kielec@eap.on.ca
Another former member of city manage- ment, Robert Menagh, is also on the 2011 salary list. Menagh earned $124,784 last year. Menagh, who was initially charged in the city whistleblower retaliation case, was fired by the city in January. The
Also on the list is former Glen Stor Dun Lodge Administrator Donna Derouchie, who earned $118,667 in salary and $1,301 in benefits, despite leaving her job in July last year in the middle of a whistleblower retaliation case against the city.
City plunges to 167th in MoneySense survey
ures 1 cm of rain equal to a foot of snow,” Shaver wrote. The Cornwall Chamber of Commerce in- vites Moneysense to visit Cornwall and get a firsthand look at what our city has to offer its residents, Shaver wrote. The chamber also encourages residents to follow Mayor Bob Kilger’s lead and not let the outcome of this survey distract them from the many positive attributes Cornwall has to offer, he wrote. Ottawa placed number one again in the annual survey, which considers factors such as climate, ease of travel, affordable housing, population growth and unem- ployment. In explaining the survey, MoneySense wrote that looking at the economic data for Canadian cities in 2012, “it becomes clear that how we live defines us as much as where we live.” “Not only is our urban experience varied depending on whether we live in down- town Montreal of in small-town Saskatchewan, but our ability to access health care or find a job or afford a home is as diverse as our land and our climate.” Take a close look at the data and you’ll find the top-rated cities aren’t perfect or even close to it any category. They are how- ever above average in most categories, re- sulting in an overall high standard of living. This year’s list has been expanded from previous years to include 190 cities and towns with populations over 10,000. To compile our list MoneySense took munici- pal data and ranked the cities in 22 cate- gories and then gave all the cities an overall ranking. A total of 105 points was up for grabs. Each category was allotted a number of points depending on the importance of the category.
heap among the best places to live in Canada. The Cornwall and Area Chamber of Com- merce wrote it in a press release it “is sur- prised and somewhat suspect” of the results of the recent MoneySense survey. “The chamber has reviewed the findings of the survey and will continue to study the methodology used in determining the de- cline in our rating,” said chamber president Rick Shaver in a press release issued this af- ternoon. Shaver insists the data and methodology used in the study is confusing and not the most accurate way to grade the cities. He also noted the rating other eastern Ontario municipalities also dropped in the survey.
The city fared espe- cially poorly in house- hold average income -- $61,070 – which placed it 176th out of 190 cities surveyed. Residents are also plagued with a low percentage of discre- tionary income – 25.85 per cent – placing it 133rd in the survey. The city also ranked in the bottom half of the study for the number of
“The most baffling, is the unemployment rate at 12 per cent, which the chamber feels is close to double the actual percentage.” Rick Shaver Cornwall and Area Chamber of Commerces president
The report considers factors such as climate, ease of travel, affordable housing, popula- tion growth and unemploy- ment. “The data and methodology used in the study is confusing and per- haps not the most accurate way to grade the cities,” Shaver noted in the release. “For one, how can the qual- ity of life be assessed without
new cars on the road. Only 12.27 per cent of vehicles in the city are new, according to the survey, for a ranking of 122. Ottawa takes top honours for the third year in a row with a score of 74 points out of a possible 105, according to MoneySense. And a number of Western cities, like Regina and Red Deer shot up this year’s list thanks to strong economic growth and low unem- ployment. The Cornwall and Area Chamber of Com- merce is challenging the magazine survey which placed the city near the bottom of the
the input of the people living there; should the lifestyle of the population be consid- ered, the results may be very different.” Shaver noted that Cornwall was not the only city in the area that experienced a de- cline in their rating -- among them are the eastern Ontario cities of Hawkesbury, Brockville, Belleville and Cobourg. He also noted it appears some categories are based on projections, rather than accu- rate numbers. “The most baffling, is the un- employment rate at 12 per cent, which the chamber feels is close to double the actual
percentage.” “According to the methodology, the un- employment rate category is one that car- ries a great deal of influence on the outcome of the report. Weather is the most influen- tial category and the methodology meas- Photo by Greg Kielec This screen shot of MoneySense maga- zine’s Canada’s Best Places to Live survey shows Cornwal’s placing at 167 of 190 cities across Canada.
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