Nothing wrong with double-dipping

Re: the letter to the editor, “Angry at DePompa’s double-dip,” April 10. There is nothing inherently wrong in deciding to cease working every day but still continue to work part-time for your former employer, whether private or governmental.

For example, a governmental employee may develop an expertise in an arcane area of law. One year into his retirement, that area of law becomes a hot-button topic concerning a transaction that if unregulated, could cost the taxpayers billions of dollars and destroy retirement planning for many people.

You’re the commissioner. Your choices are: Contact your former employee and ask him if he would come back and provide his insights and expertise to the government; hire private lawyers and accountants whose billings may well be more than 10 times the cost of the part-time employee; hire a private firm who has hired the retired employee; or do nothing and hope for the best.

When choosing your alternative, the government’s decision/failure to have trained someone to replace the retiree is not an issue. The facts and issues are an amalgamation from my own personal experiences during my 25 years with the Attorney General’s Business and Tax Section.

Mark P. Richelson
Glendale