Senate Minority Leader Josh Penry has ordered his five staffers to take a total of 40 unpaid days off because of the state budget crisis.
Three staffers are taking 10 furlough days this fiscal year, while two others are taking five days each, for a savings of $10,120.
“At least we still have jobs,” said legislative aide Mac Zimmerman, who has been hit with a 10-day furlough that will cost him $3,000.
“A lot of people aren’t that fortunate in the current environment,” he said.
Penry, a Grand Junction Republican, oversees the GOP minority office and its staff.
“I’ve got a great staff and not only do they support my decision, but they agreed it was important symbolically for us to reduce our own spending first,” he said.
Penry also plans to take a pay cut, but he said the logistics are still being worked out. He receives an annual salary of $30,000, is eligible for up to $18,000 per diem for expenses during the session; per diem in the off session when he is handling legislative matters; and mileage.
The state also is furloughing its workforce, with non-essential employees having to take four days this fiscal year as part of a plan to deal with what is a $384 million shortfall in the current budget year.
Gov. Bill Ritter said he and Lt. Gov. Barbara O’Brien are each taking four unpaid days this year. Ritter, who makes $90,000 a year, will write a check to the state for $1,252, his spokesman, Evan Dreyer, said.
Ritter, a Democrat, is seeking re-election next year. Penry is one of three Republicans running against him.
Penry said that in addition to the budget crisis, he was was spurred to act after a recent complaint by House Majority Leader Paul Weissmann, D-Louisville.
Weissmann noted that although the House has 65 members and the Senate 35 members, the House Republicans and Democrats have smaller staffs than the Senate and the staffers are paid less.
The furloughs, Penry said, will help “push Senate salaries into great parity with the House.”
Senate President Brandon Shaffer, D-Longmont, said he will be talking to House Speaker Terrance Carroll, D-Denver, on how the legislature can save money.
“We are making sure we are on the same page, and we are looking at all our options,” he said in an e-mail.
In addition to Zimmerman, the staffers required to take 10 furlough days and the savings to the state are legislative director Dan Njegomir, $3,192, and officer manager Renee White, $2,385.
The staffers taking five days and the savings are aide Lori Brown, $827, and policy analyst Dustin Zvonek , $715.
Lynn Bartels: 303-954-5327 or lbartels@denverpost.com
