One of the highest-paid City of Regina employees last year hasn't worked there since 2022
Alexander Quon | CBC News | Posted: July 11, 2024 10:00 AM | Last Updated: July 11
Diana Hawryluk was a city executive before agreeing to 'part ways' in March 2022
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.
That figure made Diana Hawryluk the City of Regina's 36th-highest-paid employee in 2023, even though she did not work for Regina that year.
Hawryluk 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 earlier this week.
The details of Hawryluk's compensation are part of Regina's annual remuneration list, which is published as part of its public accounting process.
The list provides the name, title and department of all municipal employees earning more than $50,000 a year.
That can come in the form of 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 city's 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 — the year she parted ways with the City of Regina — Hawryluk earned $82,378 in regular compensation and $253,592 in other remuneration.
In 2023, Hawryluk, then listed as the deputy city manager, city planning and community development, earned $187,297 in other compensation.
Earners of more than $150,000 double in two years
The number of employees earning more than $150,000 a year has doubled since 2021, according to a review of the City of Regina's public records.
In 2021, there were 93 employees who earned more than $150,000.
Forty-one Regina Police Service employees and 41 general municipal employees made the list, accounting for 88 per cent of the list.
As of the 2023 public accounts, there were 186 city employees who earned more than $150,000 in compensation.
General municipal employees made the largest portion of that group, with 94 employees earning more than $150,000. That's one more than the entire list of employees who made that figure just two years earlier.
The Regina Police Service formed the second-largest department in the category with 73 employees.
The City of Regina says that in general, employees with the Regina Police Service and Regina Fire & Protective Services — which fall under the general municipal department — have annual cost of living adjustments.
However, the specific growth in the past two years is tied to retroactive salary payments that were negotiated as part of collective bargaining agreements.
Executive compensation payouts
Hawryluk's compensation in 2023 is just the latest revelation from a city hall that has paid out hundreds of thousands of dollars to top executives who have retired, been dismissed or quit.
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.
Two other top executives that retired in 2023 — executive director of citizen services Kim Onrait and city solicitor Byron Werry — also made the remuneration list.
Werry, who retired in June, earned $124,535 in regular remuneration and $189,124 in other remuneration for a total of $313,659. That made him the second-highest-paid employee on the 2023 payroll.
Onrait, who retired in May, earned $111,401 in remuneration and $68,933 in special compensation making him the 47th-highest in 2023.
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.
Bray is now a radio host with Rawlco Radio.