Windsor Police Service Board 'not able' to comment on salary of former police chief

Windsor police Chief Pam Mizuno announced her retirement in Windsor, Ont. on Tuesday, March 22, 2022. (Rich Garton/CTV Windsor)

Mayor Drew Dilkens said he could not comment on the salary of Windsor’s former chief of police who was paid $266,536.34 in 2022, despite retiring suddenly in March.

The Windsor Police Service Board accepted a report during its meeting Thursday, detailing last year’s salary of former police chief Pam Mizuno who retired during the midst of a five-year contract.

“It's an employment matter about an identifiable individual. I'm not able to speak to the matter any further,” said Dilkens, who serves as chair of the board.

The report, which the board approved Thursday, also revealed Mizuno received $4,143.84 in taxable benefits in 2022.

“Chief Mizuno has retired from the organization and we have an agreement and I'm not able to speak to it anymore,” Dilkens said. “But I can confirm to you that the Sunshine List disclosure is accurate.”

The Public Sector Salary Disclosure Act (PSSD), commonly referred to as the “Sunshine List,” requires organizations, such as municipalities and boards, that receive public funding from the Province of Ontario to disclose annually the names, positions, salaries and total taxable benefits of employees paid $100,000 or more in a calendar year.

In 2021, Mizuno’s salary was listed at $241,939.95 and she had roughly $12,600 in taxable benefits.

“We are required by law to have a chief of police and we are following the law,” Dilkens continued. “And of course, we look at our salaries in accordance with what's being paid to big 12 chiefs across the country and I think you'll find that Windsor police is getting great value.”

Chief Jason Bellaire, who was deputy police chief at the time of Mizuno’s retirement, made $238,523.73 in 2022 and had $10,705.71 worth of taxable benefits.

Bellaire took over as acting chief when Mizuno officially retired on March 31.

Bellaire was named chief last November.

According to the report for 2022 salaries, WPS had 430 employees out of a total 645 employees on the list compared to 417 in 2021, an increase of 13 employees.

It said the Ambassador Bridge blockade situation caused significant increases in overtime demands, which placed members who are normally below the threshold onto the list.

The report’s author and WPS director of finance, Melissa Brindley said the PSSD Act has been in place since 1996 and noted the threshold has not been amended since, suggesting while the prescribed threshold may have been relevant at that time, inflationary salary increases over the past 27 years have made it less relevant today.

In the report, Brindley said while it is completely out of the control of the WPS, the PSSD should be amended to a more appropriate compensation level with annual indexing to account for inflationary increases to generate more relevant data.

CTV News has attempted to reach Mizuno for comment, but has not yet received a response.