City staff pay revealed

Abbotsford’s top bureaucrat tops the list for the highest-paid city official in the Fraser Valley.

Abbotsford Chief Administrative Officer Peter Sparanese made about $350,000 in 2024—$20,000 more than any other city staffer in the region. The region’s second highest-paid staffer was Francis Cheung, the longtime chief administrative officer of Langley City. Chris Crosman, the City of Chilliwack’s former chief administrative officer received the third most compensation despite. Crosman midway through last year, and a city spokesperson said retiring employees can earn “transfer earned banked overtime and a portion of unused vacation time into a retirement bank, rather than having it paid in the year it was earned.”

David Blain, who took over for Crosman at the start of the year, made $299,000.

Langley Township’s top earner was Jason Winslade, its long-time general manager of municipal administration. Winslade made more than the Township’s CAO, his putative boss.

The figures come from financial statements issued by local governments in May and June.

The financial documents provide a peek at municipal pay structures—and allow the public (and city workers) to see the remuneration of municipal employees who make more than $75,000.

We have collected each city’s Statement of Financial Information, which includes not only employee wages, but council pay, and payouts to companies, organizations, and suppliers.

While most cities proactively release the information and post the statements online or within council documents, Chilliwack and Kent do not. Chilliwack’s Statement of Financial Information was available only upon request. The District of Kent, meanwhile, insisted we pay $5 for the document, saying that its process aligned with provincial law.

Here is each community’s Statement of Financial Information:

Langley City | Langley Township | Abbotsford | Mission | Chilliwack | Harrison Hot Springs | Kent | Hope | FVRD

Here are the top 10 municipal official earners in the Fraser Valley, along with the top earners at Harrison Hot Springs, Kent, Hope, and the Fraser Valley Regional District.