The number of City of Regina employees making $150,000 or more doubled from 93 in 2021 to 186 in 2023.In the 2023 public accounts, 94 general municipal employees and 73 police employees made more than $150,000, making up most of the total.In 2021, 41 Regina Police Service employees and 41 general municipal employees made more than $150,000.Regina's fire and police employees have annual cost of living adjustments. However, most of the growth in the past two years is tied to retroactive salary payments that were negotiated as part of collective bargaining agreements.An executive who parted ways with the City of Regina in March 2022 was paid more than $185,000 by the city in the year after she left her position, the CBC reports.Diana Hawryluk was the City of Regina's 36th-highest-paid employee in 2023 despite doing no work that year. She was a city employee for more than 10 years before she and the city mutually agreed to "part ways" in March 2022.In a statement, the City of Regina said Hawryluk's remuneration was negotiated to be paid out over multiple fiscal years, with the last payment in 2023. "So she would have received some portion of salary in 2022 and then some portion in 2023," Mayor Sandra Masters said.Regina's annual remuneration list, recently published, provides the name, title and department of all municipal employees earning more than $50,000 a year. The figures include regular remuneration — such as salary or retroactive pay — and other compensation, which can include things such as "vacation credits, sick credits, allowances, membership fees of $1,000 or greater, or amounts paid to an employee upon termination."In the 2021 public accounts, Hawryluk, then the executive director of city planning and community development, earned $242,105 in regular compensation and $3,900 in other compensation for a total of $246,005. In 2022, Hawryluk earned $82,378 in regular compensation and $253,592 in other remuneration. In 2023, Hawryluk, listed as the deputy city manager, city planning and community development, earned $187,297 in other compensation.The city's senior executive team has experienced complete turnover since 2022. The payout of Barry Lacey, who left his position as deputy city manager of financial strategy and sustainability this month, is not listed in the 2023 remuneration report.Former city manager Chris Holden received nearly $850,000 in remuneration as part of his termination without cause, making him the highest-paid Regina employee in 2022, despite only being employed by the city for two months of that year.Former Regina Police Service chief Evan Bray was the top earner on the list, making $387,234 in compensation. He retired at the end of March 2023, and made $215,460 in regular compensation and $171,774 in special compensation.City solicitor Byron Werry, who retired in June, earned $124,535 in regular remuneration and $189,124 in other remuneration for the second-highest total of $313,659.Executive director of citizen services Kim Onrait, who retired in May, earned $111,401 in remuneration and $68,933 in special compensation making him the 47th-highest in 2023.Political action group Advance Regina has complained of the city's tax increases in recent years. The group is trying to organize more political engagement in advance of November's election
