The nicknames — “stimulus czars” and “watchdogs” — are a nod to the importance of the job: overseeing the spending of billions in federal economic-recovery dollars.
Each state has its own definition of the position, title variant, scope and salary. Executives are to be paid anywhere from the minimum wage Vermont’s czar insists on getting to $175,000 for California’s new inspector general who shares some of the work with another official earning much less.
The annual salary for Colorado czar Don Elliman — $146,034 — ranks seventh among 36 states responding to a Denver Post telephone survey, although it’s difficult to assess whether that’s too much, too little or just right when compared with the other states.
That’s because the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act — distributing $787 billion nationwide — doesn’t require the oversight post, so state-by-state approaches to the job vary widely.
Fifteen states, including Texas, did not respond to The Post’s survey or said they have no chief coordinator.
“Some stimulus czars have more of a cheerleader role but are not driving transparency and accountability requirements. It’s a complicated picture,” said Chris Whatley, director of the Council of State Governments in Washington, D.C. “The most basic task of following every (stimulus) dollar falls principally on the state budget officers.”
But not all states see it that way.
Nevada and New Jersey, for instance, have spread the oversight function among its current executives. Others, such as New Hampshire, have shifted an existing state employee into a newly created slot that pays up to $99,000.
And Vermont has opted to bring in a retired state transportation executive, whose salary is to be donated back to the state, essentially making him a minimum-wage employee.
Government association leaders and watchdog groups say appointments to the czar jobs in part flow from a fear of political fallout.
“If you take the single most complicated piece of legislation in terms of accountability passed by the feds, and the largest single appropriation ever, and you suddenly put it on top of heads of state, saying I will shame you if you make a false move, and nobody understands how exactly they can be shamed, it scares the heck out of people,” Whatley said.
Still, governors defend the pay scales they’ve established.
“Whatever salary she gets is worth it a hundred times over,” California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared in April of his choice for watchdog, stressing that the $50 billion in stimulus funds expected to flow into the Golden State justifies the compensation.
Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter similarly sized up Elliman’s importance, drawing barbs from Republican lawmakers who called the salary outsized.
Elliman, Ritter’s director of economic development since 2007, has chaired Colorado’s economic stimulus board since the spring.
Earlier this month, Ritter’s office announced that Elliman would step into a chief operating officer role to oversee agencies using stimulus dollars and a new economic-development director would be sought.
Colorado House Republican Leader Mike May said Ritter should be able to handle the oversight at current staffing levels. May suggested the governor’s aim was to shift onto Elliman — and away from Ritter — criticism that could develop over stimulus spending.
That brought sharp denials from Ritter’s office, which then announced Elliman’s duties broadened to include budgetary matters for all state agencies, not just those receiving recovery funds.
“We appreciate . . . that Don is willing to take on much more responsibility and serve the people of Colorado without a penny more in salary,” Ritter spokeswoman Myung Kim said.
Illinois is the only other state whose stimulus czar is titled as the chief operating officer, a job that pays $150,000, the governor’s office there said.
Though relatively new to state governments, the COO terminology is closely aligned with the role of a chief budget officer, experts say.
About a dozen states have anointed their budget officer or administrator as stimulus coordinators with oversight responsibility.
The top dog in that league, The Post found, is South Dakota’s budget director, making $139,668.
Denver Post researcher Barbara Hudson contributed to this report.
Miles Moffeit: 303-954-1415 or mmoffeit@denverpost.com
