Today, I present you the first case in CTB's Accountability Initiative. But, before we get to our first subject, a quick recap of what I'm trying to accomplish:
"The
CTB Accountability Initiative's goal is to present unbiased
information to voters, so they know whether PA lawmakers are using
taxpayer resources for the greater good of the Keystone state or for
their own self-serving purposes."
Let the fun begin...
Rep. Douglas Reichley, 134th District, Elected in 2003 and serving his fourth term.
Standing committee assignments:
Consumer Affairs, Health & Human Services, Professional Licensure, Appropriations (Vice Chairmen)
Reichley's biography.
Reichley has been making headlines by "accusing" Gov. Ed Rendell of using "Pay to Play" tactics.
Straight from the Representative's mouth:
- "The disclosures over the past year of possible favoritism in awarding
contracts leads us to worry that Pennsylvania is not immune to the
perception that — it's not what you can do but who you know — that gets
you preferential treatment in state contracts," - Reichley on how Pay to Play tactics may be affecting PA (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, 2/11/09)
Maher's amendment, said Republican Rep. Doug Reichley of Allentown,
was an attempt "to take another step forward to restore integrity for
this chamber."
"We thought it was important there not be this conflict of interest."- Reichley in response to a beaten ethics measure (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, 2/9/09)
"In the last six years, the pay-to-play mind-set that prevailed in
Philadelphia under Mayor Rendell has migrated to Harrisburg to become
the prevailing motto for the award of no-bid contracts worth millions
of taxpayer dollars to friends and supporters of Gov. Rendell," he
said. Rendell served as mayor of Philadelphia from 1992-1999.
"The governor has strained the legal interpretation of state contract law,"- Reichley accusing Gov. Ed Rendell of using "Pay to Play" tactics (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, 1/10/09)
- ''We believe the time has come for pay-to-play to end,'' said Rep. Doug
Reichley, R-Lehigh, referring to the widely derided -- and bipartisan
-- practice of rewarding campaign donors with public contracts. ''The
taxpayers are not being well-served.''- Reichley on why PA needs o end "Pay to Play" politics (The Morning Call, 4/24/09)
So, let's take a look at how Reichley is serving the taxpayers...
A look at the highlights from Reichley's claimed reimbursements (since 2003)
Expense Type
|
Total Cost |
Yearly Average |
Business Meals
|
$5,551.54
|
$925.26
|
Communication Services
|
1,448.44
|
241.41
|
District Furniture and Equip. Lease
|
10,696.30
|
1,782.72
|
Employer's Vehicle Lease
| 18,823.09
| 3,137.18
|
Gas & Oil
| 20,786.44
| 3,464.41
|
Janitorial Services
|
4,190.64
|
698.44
|
Office Supplies
|
10,668.49
|
1,778.08
|
Photographic Services
|
1,223.59
|
203.93
|
Publications- Periodicals
|
2,498.33
|
416.39
|
Staff Mileage
| 3625.93
| 604.32
|
Vehicle Maintenance
| 2162.23
| 360.38
|
All reimbursements
| 342,920.13
| 57,153.36
|
Notes from the above chart:
- Business Meals- Keep in mind that these aren't Per Diems. On 9/22/04, Reichley spent $812.38 on Business Meals. On 3/25/06, Reichley spent $1,061.77 on Business Meals. These meals must have been fairly important, considering an average family of four spends $600 a month in groceries.
- Communication and Photographic Services- Reichley spends about $450/year in these two areas. Now, there are no details to what these two categories are, so let's just hope none of the photos purchased with taxpayer money were used in Reichley campaign material.
- Gas & Oil, Employer's Vehicle Lease, Staff Mileage and Vehicle Maintenance- This must be a pretty sweet deal. You know, to have your employer pay for your vehicle, it's maintenance and fuel, while not having your yearly salary impacted. An average American driver spends about $2600 on gas a year. Reichley drove a taxpayer-sponsored 2005 Jeep Cherokee from April 6, 2005 to May 18, 2008. The monthly lease payment was $290 and the vehicle is supposed to average 17-23 MPG. On May 19, 2008, Reichley was given a new vehicle (according to records, this is his current vehicle), a 2008 Ford Escape. The monthly lease payment is $364 and the vehicle averages 17-23 MPG. So, in a time when our government is trying to cut back, Reichley increased his costs by almost $900/ a year. Plus, isn't our government supposed to be environmentally conscious? I can't see the benefit of paying for a more expensive vehicle that doesn't give you better performance. The yearly cost for Reichley's vehicle (with Staff Mileage) is $7,566.29.
- Janitorial/ Cleaning Services- PA taxpayers are stuck with a $700/year bill because it seems no one in Reichley's office can clean up after themselves or operate a vacuum cleaner.
- Publications- Periodicals- This one is extremely curious. Taxpayers are paying a little over $400/ year so Reichley and his staff has reading material when they have down time. That breaks down to about 13 subscriptions. Perhaps, they are educational magazines such as Maxim or Soldier of Fortune.
A look at some "random" costs from Reichley's reimbursements (since 2003)
Expense Type
|
Total Cost | Yearly Average
|
| Flags |
$4,663.86 | $771.31
|
Miscellaneous
|
667.64 | 111.23
|
Other Services
|
959.45 | 159.91
|
Site Rental
|
5,496.00 | 916.00
|
Notes from the above chart
- Miscellaneous- The benefit of doubt should be given to Reichley here as all of the "Miscellaneous" charges occurred in the first two months of his initial term. We'll just chalk these costs up to Reichley being new to the job.
- Other Services- I can't give Reichley a free pass on this one. These costs occurred between 2006 and 2008. I know it's not a lot of money, but if taxpayer money is being used "Other Services" is an unacceptable description. Every dollar needs to be accounted for.
- Site Rental- Another extremely vague cost and taxpayers have paid for it nineteen times.
If you are interested in checking out all of the data used to compile these charts please download this spreadsheet. Download Reichley/category
A look at Reichley's campaign contributors
Sector
|
2002 |
2004
|
2006
|
2008
|
Total
|
Automotive
|
250
|
1,550
|
4,400
|
4,250
|
10,450
|
Business Associations
|
12,750
|
674
|
600
|
1,500
|
15,524
|
Candidate Committees
|
8,650
|
1,800
|
5,557
|
5,250
|
21,257
|
Electric Utilities
|
1,000
|
2,500
|
4,450
|
7,050
|
15,000
|
Health Professionals
|
2,650
|
4,700
|
3,200
|
5,450
|
16,000
|
Lawyers & Lobbyists
|
9,000
|
7,100
|
12,803
|
12,592
|
41,495
|
Party Committees
|
148,551
|
|
18,241
|
|
166,792
|
Pharmaceuticals & Health Products
|
|
2,450
|
4,900
|
9,050
|
16,400
|
Real Estate
|
3,800
|
10,750
|
17,950
|
5,750
|
38,250
|
Uncoded
|
12,775
|
(5,322)
|
59,150
|
59,360
|
125,96 |
Notes from the above chart
- Automotive and Business Associations- Reichley has a potential conflict of interest because he is on the Consumer Affairs committee.
- Lawyers & Lobbyists and Real Estate- Reichley is on the Professional Licensure committee. It's tough taking him seriously when he talks about ending "Pay to Play" politics because he receives a substantial amount of money from lobbyists.
- Health Professional and Pharmaceuticals & Health Products- Reichley says it's time to end "Pay to Play" politics. However, Reichley is on the Health and Human Services committee, so why is he taking money from pharmaceutical companies?
Although he spends almost $60,000/year in taxpayer money, at least he isn't accepting gifts like some other PA politicians.
Pennsylvania lawmakers accepted more than $60,000 in travel, meals
and other freebies last year, according to mandatory statements of
financial interest newly filed with the State Ethics Commission.
About
three dozen of the 253 state representatives and senators disclosed
gifts or free "transportation, lodging, hospitality" in the reports
that were due in Harrisburg on Friday.
They let others pay for
their football and baseball tickets; golf fees; travel to Japan,
Australia, Turkey and Switzerland; and legislative or political
conferences at various locations within the United States.
They also accepted donations for senior expos and similar events worth an additional $15,000.
Reichley filed his Statement of Financial Interests on April 28, 2009 and reported receiving no gifts worth more than $250.
Conclusion
Reichley may be spearheading a campaign to eliminate Pay to Play tactics in PA, but some of his campaign history suggests that he has the forsaken "potential for conflict of interest."
I have no way of knowing (yet, this is only the first case) if Reichley's reimbursement claims are on par with other Representatives, but $57,000/year seems quite excessive. Especially when you consider that the average American family makes $46,326.
Before I go, I would like to thank the PA Office of Open Records for quickly responding to my many information requests. The entire process of requesting information to receiving the hard documents took a little less than two weeks. The people who I dealt with made it a top priority to get the exact information I wanted and they communicated every step of the way.