Duffy denies he raised his DA pay near term’s end

The leader of the state Democratic Party on Wednesday accused U.S. Rep. Sean Duffy, R-Ashland, of giving himself a pay raise during his final six weeks as Ashland County’s district attorney and urged the lawmaker to reimburse the county that money.

But a spokesman for Duffy said he never received a raise and wouldn’t have been able to give himself one.

“According to news reports in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, and your own personal financial disclosure forms filed with the House (of Representatives), you gave yourself a raise from $1,800 to $2,000 per week in your final six weeks as Ashland County District Attorney,” DPW Chairman Mike Tate wrote in a letter to Duffy’s office on Wednesday.

A copy of Tate’s letter was available on the state Democratic Party’s website.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Wednesday reported that Duffy last year reported earning $34,000 during the first 4½ months in 2010 — a figure that would equal about $1,800 a week.

But the newspaper reported that Duffy’s recently filed personal financial disclosure form indicates he made more than $2,000 a week during his final six weeks as DA.

In the letter, Tate said Duffy should reimburse Ashland County “in the amount of the raise you gave yourself.”

Daniel Son, a Duffy spokesman, said in an email to the Leader-Telegram on Wednesday the “difference in salary reflects the payroll system for state employees.”

“There is a lag between the pay periods and the payday. (Duffy’s) financial disclosure did not reflect the lag in payment,” Son said. “There was no increase in DA Duffy’s pay.”

Son also told the Leader-Telegram Duffy hadn’t — and couldn’t have — raised his own salary.

“As you know, state employees do not set their own salaries. Congressman Duffy did not receive a raise,” Son said.

Copyright (c) 2011, The Leader-Telegram, Eau Claire, Wis./

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