Some political appointees are also double dippers

At least four political appointees are also double dippers.

As soon as we published a list of “exempt” — or political appointees — compiled by the Department of Finance and Administration last night, we started getting questions about how many of them were also double dippers.

So far, we’ve found four in the Attorney General’s office.

General Counsel Stuart Bluestone, who earns earns $107,409. Chief of Staff Michelle Garcia makes $80,641. Assistant Attorney General III Andrea Buzzard is paid $75,264 and Director of Investigations Earl Holmes makes $76,038.

NMI’s Marjorie Childress determined in April of this year that the Attorney General’s office had 13 double dippers.

All of those employees at the time earned salaries between $53,000 and $81,000, plus draw an annual pension, Childress wrote.

Double dipping is perceived by some as a major problem in New Mexico state government, especially in light of the budget crisis.

Under a law passed in 2004, public employees can retire as soon as they are eligible, at 20-25 years depending on the position, and then come back as rehired retirees earning both a salary and a pension.  This practice has become commonly referred to as “double-dipping.”

According to the Associated Press earlier this year, there were 2,200 retirees from state jobs who’ve gone back to work, representing about nine percent of the state pension program’s retirees.

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