Posted on 02/24/2009 2:45:08 PM PST by SolidWood
Governor’s Staff Addresses Expenses Issues on News Media Coverage of Per Diem
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 09-35
Governor’s Staff Addresses Expenses Issues
February 23, 2009, Anchorage, Alaska – Staff for Governor Sarah Palin today responded to persistent news media coverage of the per diem the governor has collected while working away from her official duty station of Juneau, while pointing out significant savings the governor has achieved in regard to the way she has discharged her official duties.
“The news media have been focused on the $8,500 the governor has collected in per diem annually while working in Anchorage, almost 50 miles from her home in Wasilla,” said Bill McAllister, director of communications for the governor. “But aside from the fact that the governor is legally entitled to these payments, the media have missed the larger point that the governor actually has saved the state money by not living year-round in the official residence in Juneau.”
Expense reports for per diem, lodging and travel for the governor and the first gentleman show a savings of more than $900,000 for calendar years 2007 and 2008, compared with the last two years of the previous administration. More than $100,000 of that is attributable to lower costs at the Governor’s House.
“Except for the previous governor’s much-derided purchase and use of a jet, this is not intended as criticism of the previous administration,” McAllister said. “But it does show that the governor’s Anchorage-based per diem was offset many times by reductions in other spending associated with her official duties.”
Meanwhile, questions have been raised about the taxability of the governor’s per diem for days in Anchorage. An internal review has determined that this per diem is taxable. Kim Garnero, the state finance director, reported that last week new W-2 forms were issued to the governor for tax years 2007 and 2008.
“The governor has relied upon expert advice in how she handles these matters, and with this clarification of the per diem issue, she will make the necessary tax adjustments and comply with all pertinent IRS rules and regulations,” McAllister said. “However, this tax matter is a personal issue, and is not subject to public disclosure. Any future per diem payments, of course, will be a matter of public record.”
Questions also have been raised about whether travel by the First Family to state government-related events amounts to taxable income. An internal review has determined these expenses are not taxable. McAllister noted that first families of previous governors have been involved in state government-related events and that Governor Palin believes it’s an important role for her family as well. For more information, contact Kim Garnero, 465-3435, 723-3707, or Bill McAllister, 269-7446, 306-5201.
Links to charts comparing expenditures among administrations can be found at:
http://gov.state.ak.us/pdf/GovernorTravelExpenseReport_Feb2009.pdf http://gov.state.ak.us/pdf/Murkowski_Palin-Compare_Feb2009.pdf
http://gov.state.ak.us/pdf/GovernorTravelExpenseReport_Feb2009.pdf
http://gov.state.ak.us/pdf/Murkowski_Palin-Compare_Feb2009.pdf
Look at the charts!
I think there’s been too much time spent on this issue, and that is exactly what the MSM/dims want. If Gov.Palin and staff have to devote so much energy to this what happens when there are bigger mud piles thrown at them.
I’m all for Gov.Palin and she is my choice for 2012, but there has to be a better way to handle this, and don’t ask me what because if I knew I’d be on the phone to her.
The MSM will not report this. Guaranteed.
The way her staff handled this was professional and appropiate. What else is she to do? She sets the record straight and provides us a clear statement with facts and charts. You can’t always meekly take the hits. The record is set straight and those not drinking the Kool-aid now have a hard reference.
Nope, they’d rather stick with their first reports that made it sound like Palin was a tax cheat.
We’ve had 8 years of BDS - do we officially have SDS now?
Ping!
There isn't. The Rats and Murkowski Republicans are misusing Alaska's fairly tough ethics laws to nickle-and-dime her to death. She's got a fairly small staff, and her attackers are hitting them on all fronts. It's only a matter of time before exhaustion sets in and she either really starts lashing out at them, or else packs it in and goes back home to Wasilla, which is exactly what they want.
GWB: not fighting back was stupid, incompetent, damaging.
Palin: fighting back is whining, tiring, foolish.
I agree that she should not take ANY hits, and in retrospect her staff may have handled it wonderfully. My concern, and this has nothing to do with her, is that the dems are never going to stop with this incessant nickel and diming.
What we must do, is never waver in our support for her and set straight those who might not know the facts. It will be interestng to see what’s next.
Yes. Linking the charts (more handily than a long text) on all the blogs and forums we frequent is a start.
maybe she is too nice.
She needs to come out, go on tv and tell them where to go.
Damn straight, brother!
I did not make myself clear. I’m all for her fighting back and she should not let any hit go unanswered. I think I addressed my concern in a reply post to solid.
No, it is Palin Madness Syndrome (PMS) and the media has a severe case of it.
No, it is Palin Madness Syndrome (PMS) and the media has a severe case of it.
You have that right, it has gone on long enough now to be included as a mental illness by the American Psychiatric Association. I think this goes way beyond what we saw with Bush. Everything about Palin, her glasses, her hair, her boots, her accent, the way she waves, her kids, her kid’s names, her husbands avocation, everything she does, everything she doesn’t do, everything she says, and everything she doesn’t say is put under a microscope, and found lacking (by the media and others.)
Palin shouldn’t run in 2012. There’s no guarantees that Obama will lose in 2012. Better to just focus on being Governor. By not running, she takes away leverage from the media and they’re left worrying about others. Jindal is nice but you know the majority of the South won’t vote for him.
I think it depends on how Obama stands in the second half of his term. If he is in shatters, as I expect him to be, the election will be Palin’s (or any other Conservatives) to win. 0bama has the hallmarks of an one-termer. But if he is strong and the economy fairly okay, we shouldn’t waste Palin, Jindal or any other good candidate. Jindal is still in his 30’s and will easily have a good position in 2020+. It’s way too early for him.
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