Paul Weissmann, former Democrat House Majority Leader and current Chief of Staff to Minority Leader Mark Ferrandino, is double-dipping into the taxpayer trough. According to a white washed piece in this morning's Denver Post by Lynn Bartels, that's cool.
Most taxpayers would likely take a different view.
Weissmann was recently appointed to the $72,500/year Boulder County public trustee position by Governor Hickenlooper after the previous trustee proved untrustworthy with public funds. Now Weissmann is proving himself equally untrustworthy by continuing to take taxpayer funding for his second government job, working for Ferrandino in the State House.
But, according to Bartels' story this morning, it's no problem because Weissmann will only partially double-dip, by cutting his Chief of Staff salary in half at the Capitol.
Oh, ok. He's only taking a partial second salary from taxpayers. How many workers in the private sector do you know right now taking a half salary from their previous job?
The problem, as Bartels explains it, is that the public trustee pay cannot be cut because it's paid regardless of the hours worked:
Weissmann said he is trying to figure how to reduce his trustee pay on days when he is not working on foreclosure matters.
"That's the game plan," he said.
But so far that hasn't been easy. The salary for appointed trustees is automatic, so they earn $72,500 annually, no matter how many days or hours they work.
Since when did a government salary paying $72,500/year become a part-time endeavor?
Don't worry, Paul. Take your time figuring out exactly how much you can fleece Colorado taxpayers for. No rush.
Here's a solution: Pick one job and stick with it. If you can't cut pay at the public trustee position, cut the State House job. Pretty simple solution, really.
With the economy still in the tank, and unemployment rising in Colorado for the last four straight months, there couldn't be a worse time to double-dip into the already empty pockets of taxpayers. It seems the Denver Post's most prolific political scribe feels differently.