A Good Return on Coincidence

Looking at the Transparency Portal again we can see that the Commonwealth of Kentucky has spent $67,830,679.36 for Legal Services since fiscal year 2007.

Below is a list of some of the firms that got the money. This is by no means a complete list.

KLAUSNER AND KAUFMAN PA $585,796.63

STOLL KEENON AND PARK (now Stoll Keenon and Ogden) $401,306.53

FROST BROWN TODD LLC $323,281.32

ICE MILLER $516,799.73

WYATT TARRANT AND COMBS $596,551.18

GESS MATTINGLY AND ATCHISON $105,676.63

PORTER SCHMITT BANKS & BALDWIN $189,048.23

STURGILL TURNER BARKER $576,734.03

REED WEITKAMP SCHELL AND VICE $1,028,885.24 (Shell and Vice? Really? I couldn't make this stuff up.)

WALTHER, ROARK AND GAY $255,012.21

BOWLES RICE MCDAVID GRAFF AND LOVE $142,964.07

Now it’s good to know that you can get legal help when you need it. After all the state only has 569 staff attorneys. They obviously don’t have the time or expertise to take care of all the legal work needed by the Commonwealth.

And I’m sure that it is just a coincidence that a quick check of the records from the Registry of Election Finance show that employees of the above firms have contributed $211,239.35 to political candidates.

This was not a detailed check of contributions, I did not look at how much their marital partners gave, or alternative spellings of the company name, or any of a number of other variations of the search criteria.

Considering these firms above billed $4,722,055.80 that’s a pretty good return on coincidence.

Consultants Get $341 Million in Kentucky Tax Dollars

Below is the first page of 32 pages of search results on Consulting Contracts from the Kentucky’s Transparency Portal.

$341 million dollars for consultants, and if you click on the View Detail Link this is what you get:

Pro Contract (Inc Per Serv) - Consulting Services-1099 Rept
No detail records found.

So what did the state get for $341 million dollars in consulting fees?

2007 Judicial Cabinet Judicial Department Pro Contract (Inc Per Serv) Consulting Services-1099 Rept $272,651.77

2007 Cabinet of the General Government Department Of Agriculture Pro Contract (Inc Per Serv) Consulting Services-1099 Rept $19,800.00

2007 Cabinet of the General Government Department Of Veterans Affairs Pro Contract (Inc Per Serv) Consulting Services-1099 Rept $39,317.00

2007 Cabinet of the General Government Ky Infrastructure Authority Pro Contract (Inc Per Serv) Consulting Services-1099 Rept $1,231,703.66

2007 Cabinet of the General Government Agricultural Development Board Pro Contract (Inc Per Serv) Consulting Services-1099 Rept $4,225.00

2007 Cabinet of the General Government Department Of Military Affairs Pro Contract (Inc Per Serv) Consulting Services-1099 Rept $312,000.00

2007 Cabinet of the General Government Governor's Office Of Minority Empowerment Pro Contract (Inc Per Serv) Consulting Services-1099 Rept $22,500.00

2007 Cabinet of the General Government Kentucky Retirement Systems Pro Contract (Inc Per Serv) Consulting Services-1099 Rept $674,505.33

2007 Cabinet of the General Government Department for Local Government Pro Contract (Inc Per Serv) Consulting Services-1099 Rept $77,775.00

2007 Cabinet of the General Government State Treasurer Pro Contract (Inc Per Serv) Consulting Services-1099 Rept $8,949.00

Grand Total: $341,123,853.48