Jennifer Messer - the $20,000/month Question

So, Jennifer Messer is on retainer with the Town of Fishers for $20,000/month. Huh. I'm sure that has precisely nothing to do with the fact that she is Mrs. Congressman Luke Messer.

I don't know a whole lot about the precise nature of the work she performs, and perhaps she performs handily. However, let's take a look at some numbers by comparison:

• General Counsel for most State of Indiana agencies makes right around $100,000. That includes the Utility Commission, IDEM, FSSA, the Indiana Finance Authority, etc. Mrs. Congressman Luke Messer makes that from the Town of Fishers by June 1. Assuming that she devotes her full time to this, can we really say that she is twice as good as every single attorney that acts as general counsel for every single state agency?
• Partners at Bose McKinney, Ice Miller, etc., generally bill approximately $450/hour. The Town of Fishers would have to put Jennifer Messer to work for approximately 44.5 hours/month at that rate to round out the $20,000. Does she do 44.5 hours of work/month?

Also, to clear up any misunderstanding about retainers, attorneys have to bill against them. In other words, it's an up-front payment for services to be rendered. If Jennifer Messer does nothing, she has to give the $20,000 back. If she bills more than $20,000 in the month, then the Town of Fishers owes her more. I have not seen any information on this either way.

I have no problem with people paying top dollar for legal work. It is important work and it is important to get things right, lest you find out the hard way that you got taken for a ride (a painful lesson for many public officials to learn).

I do have a problem with (a) the lack of transparency around this, particularly the unwillingness to reveal how much she is being paid, and what she is being paid to do; and (b) the fact that her husband preaches on and on about fiscal responsibility and "belt tightening" when it comes to such frivolous things as meals for the poor, elderly, and disabled, yet he seems to have no problem feeding his own family from the trough.

As they say, pigs get fed; hogs get slaughtered. Thus far, the Messers are pigs. Perhaps this AP story turns them into hogs? 

Don't hold your breath. They have the bulletproof vest Republican party affiliation to protect them. See previous post on mindlessly pulling the lever.