Republicans call on Ritter to account for any bonuses in his administration

Amid disclosures of staff bonuses and other questionable expenditures by Democrats at the State Capitol, two GOP senators want Gov. Bill Ritter to track, tally and spell out his administration's policy on any bonuses that may have been granted in the executive branch. The Republican demand comes after Ritter administration officials acknowledged the Democrat governor doesn't even know if bonuses have been awarded by his Cabinet agencies--despite massive state budget cuts and a spiraling recession.

As reported by Denver's KDVR-TV Fox 31 News, Republican Sens. Ted Harvey, of Highlands Ranch, and Mike Kopp, of Littleton, sent Ritter a letter Wednesday in which the lawmakers call for an accounting.

"Revelations about bonuses recently awarded to Senate Democrat staff in the General Assembly came as an affront to the many, many Coloradans who have faced the threat of furloughs, pay cuts and layoffs amid our nation’s devastating recession," the senators write in their letter. "So, we were dismayed to learn that your administration has not suspended the same practice, or at least established clear guidelines."

The Associated Press reported earlier this week that Ritter's chief of staff, Jim Carpenter, said Ritter is trying to discourage executive directors from giving bonuses this year, but he can't guarantee they haven't been handed out.

According to the AP, a spokeswoman for Ritter's Department of Personnel and

Administration said the governor had left the decision on whether to award bonuses to individual department heads this year.

In their letter, Kopp and Harvey also chide the governor for "hiring a $146,000-a-year 'chief operating officer'—a post that seems to have striking similarities to your own." The senators say that's among the "telltale signs that the state government continues to function as if it were above the fray," and they note it all couldn't come at a worse time--as the state's jobless rate soars to record highs.

"You owe an accounting to the general public as well as rank-and-file employees in state government," their letter states. "They are reeling from the recession and have a right to know if your administration is playing by the same rules—and willing to make the same sacrifices—that confront so many other Coloradans right now."

The senators conclude their letter by urging the governor to, "tally and disclose the total number and dollar value of bonuses that may have been awarded by your administration." They add, "We also ask you to make clear your administration’s policy on bonuses amid our state’s current economic travails."