Big Pay in a Small City: Who Made the Most in Owen Sound Government in 2024
Owen Sound’s top four City Hall officials earned a combined $691,106 in 2024—1.48% of the city’s total expenses. See who topped the list in Ontario’s latest salary disclosure.
Ontario has released its public sector salary disclosure for 2024, offering a fresh look at how tax dollars are distributed across government agencies, municipalities, and publicly funded institutions. In Owen Sound, the top 10 public servants on the city's payroll collectively earned more than $1.7 million last year.
When Ontario’s Sunshine List launched in 1996, just 4,501 provincial public servants made over $100,000 annually. The report faces much criticism today for being behind the times and out of touch. After all, 377,666 public service employees qualified for the Sunshine List this year. We’ll look at Owen Sound’s figures with that in mind.
According to the Bank of Canada’s inflation calculator, that $100,000 in 1996 is the equivalent of 185,017.03 today (as of March 30, 2025). And so we begin our assessment by focusing there—on public servants in Owen Sound with compensation greater than $185,000+ per year.
There are two of them employed by the City of Owen Sound, and one got a 10% raise in 2024.
Then, we’ll look at the eight next-highest earners to round out the city’s top ten highest-paid public servants, as well as others working for different public employers in the region.
1. Timothy Simmonds, City Manager - $219,951.49
The City Manager earned nearly $220,000 in 2024, a 10% increase over the year prior. The “City Manager & Strategic Initiatives” department cost $442,226 for 2024. Council approved a 32.7% increase (+$144,669) in the expense of this office for 2025, bringing its cost to $586,895 this year.
2. Craig Ambrose, Chief of Police - $215,882.13
Owen Sound Police Service’s Chief of Police earned over $215,000 last year, up 0.64% from 2023. Police officer salaries accounted for $7,247,004 in 2024, and increased to $7,931,276 of the 2025 budget. Civilian police employees, meanwhile, collectively earned $893,403 last year. That expense has been reduced by $112,265 to $781,138 for 2025.
Six more City of Owen Sound employees made over $150,000 in 2024:
Philip Eagleson, Fire Chief - $179,848.67 (+4.71% YoY)
Jeffrey Fluney, Police Inspector - $166,037.20 (0 change)
David Bishop, Inspector - $166,037.20 (0 change)
Pamela Coulter, Director of Community Services - $160,793.39 (+9.4% YoY)
Kate Allen, Director of Corporate Services - $156,136.47 (+6.23% YoY)
Lara Widdifield, Director of Public Works and Engineering - $154,222.29 (+16.18% YoY)
Police Sargeant Craig Matheson and Chief Librarian Tim Nicholls-Harrison rounded out the top ten with total compensation of $147,751.62 and $143,349.19, respectively.
All told, the 10 public servants paid most by the City of Owen Sound accounted for over $1.7 million of the city’s budget.
Excluding emergency services leadership, the four top City Hall employees collectively accounted for $691,106.64, or 1.48% of the City’s total expenses.
Last year, the City of Owen Sound also employed 151 full-time equivalent staff, 12 part-time employees, 25 seasonal employees, and 14 summer students.
Owen Sound Council approved the 2025 budget with $48,880,058 in total expenses, over $2 million higher than the year before. The net tax levy grew by $1.3 million from just under $34.9M to $36.2M.
Other top-earning public employees in the region include:
Ann M. Ford, President and CEO of Brightshores Health System - $351,713.29
Dr. Ian Arra, Chief Medical Officer at Grey Bruce Public Health - $326,570.38
Lori Wilder, Director of Education, Bluewater District School Board - $258,348.35
Julie Lipsett, Executive Director at Bruce Grey Child and Family Services - $208,365.42
Karyn Bruneel, Director of Education at Bruce Grey Catholic District School Board - $194,004.26
Sources:
Yes, that was an appropriate gesture, but why include those salaries below the new threshold? It defeats the purpose of adjusting the $100,000 figure threshold.
The Sunshine list threshold of $1,000 has been in place since the Mike Harris PC government and is vastly out of date.