Abbotsford chief administrative officer Peter Sparanese was the top earner among all city staff in the Fraser Valley. 📷 Tyler Olsen/City of Abbotsford

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:

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.

📊 Tyler Olsen

📊 Tyler Olsen

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Robert Martens1 year ago

I think I'd agree with Mr. Blondin on this one. Hiring needs to be competitive. And we'll miss you, Tyler.

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Rocky Blondin1 year ago

Kent makes you pay for it!? That's not cool at all.

What kills me overall about these lists, is there is no competitive market for these roles. You get appointed to a CAO seat in your 40's or 50's and barring any really bad controversies, you tend to get a golden ticket to retirement. We don't actually assess how well the CAO is doing and pay them relative to that. Their pay just goes up every year due to circular pay raise studies that the FVC has reported on.

A better way (that will never happen): every 5 years, the CAO (and all Sr jobs over $150k/yr) solicit applicants. A given City goes out into the market, and sees what options are out there, and what pay they are willing to be paid. Then, the Council of the day can decide if there is a better, lower-cost option, and negotiate with the incumbent.

I know for a fact - Fraser Valley City staff have gone on to become CAO's in other communities, and get paid less than these dinosaurs, and do a far better job. We need turnover.