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APNewsBreak: City pays Indiana congressmans wife $20K/month
Source: Associated Press
APNewsBreak: City pays Indiana congressman’s wife $20K/month
By BRIAN SLODYSKO
1 hour ago
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A burgeoning Indianapolis suburb has paid the wife of an influential congressman $580,000 since 2015 for legal consulting she largely does from the Washington area, an unusually large sum even in a state rife with highly paid government contractors, according to a review by The Associated Press.
Jennifer Messer, the wife of Republican Rep. Luke Messer, makes $20,000 a month working as a contract attorney for Fishers, according to the AP’s review of public documents. That’s drastically more than either of the city’s two staff attorneys are paid — or many other government lawyers in Indiana.
Legal experts say the agreement, which pays about $240,000 a year, doesn’t appear to break any rules because state law allows considerable leeway for governments to enter into professional service contracts. But it could create an awkward situation for her husband, who was elected to Congress in 2012 on a pledge to “stop the reckless spending” and has plans to challenge Democratic Sen. Joe Donnelly next year.
Meanwhile, many of Fishers’ daily legal needs are handled by salaried lawyers, or other local law firms. That leaves a limited work portfolio for Messer, a lawyer of 16 years, who is free to take on additional clients and whose contractual duties to the city include “providing legal advice and services” with an emphasis on economic development.
In recent years, Republican-dominated Indiana and local governments in the state have increasingly replaced government workers with contractors in a bid to drive down the headcount of public employees.
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By BRIAN SLODYSKO
1 hour ago
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A burgeoning Indianapolis suburb has paid the wife of an influential congressman $580,000 since 2015 for legal consulting she largely does from the Washington area, an unusually large sum even in a state rife with highly paid government contractors, according to a review by The Associated Press.
Jennifer Messer, the wife of Republican Rep. Luke Messer, makes $20,000 a month working as a contract attorney for Fishers, according to the AP’s review of public documents. That’s drastically more than either of the city’s two staff attorneys are paid — or many other government lawyers in Indiana.
Legal experts say the agreement, which pays about $240,000 a year, doesn’t appear to break any rules because state law allows considerable leeway for governments to enter into professional service contracts. But it could create an awkward situation for her husband, who was elected to Congress in 2012 on a pledge to “stop the reckless spending” and has plans to challenge Democratic Sen. Joe Donnelly next year.
Meanwhile, many of Fishers’ daily legal needs are handled by salaried lawyers, or other local law firms. That leaves a limited work portfolio for Messer, a lawyer of 16 years, who is free to take on additional clients and whose contractual duties to the city include “providing legal advice and services” with an emphasis on economic development.
In recent years, Republican-dominated Indiana and local governments in the state have increasingly replaced government workers with contractors in a bid to drive down the headcount of public employees.
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Read more: https://apnews.com/0eab303fc8e546d99b457e50d169a1d7/APNewsBreak:-City-pays-Indiana-congressman's-wife-$20K-month
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