Denver's $9000/Week DNC Emergency Planner

The cost of the Democratic National Convention is steep, and acquiring a top-level emergency planner commands quite a premium--$9000 a week:

Planning for the worst during the Democratic National Convention requires one of the best, and that expertise doesn't come cheap.

Denver is paying $225 an hour - or $9,000 a week - to Ellis M. Stanley Sr., an emergency management veteran who has been tapped to serve as director of DNC planning for the city's Office of Emergency Management.

Stanley, who has overseen planning for major events including the 1988 Democratic convention and the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, stands to make up to $280,000 while under contract with the city through August.
. . .
There are very few people who have the "experience in local government with events of this magnitude," said Kelly Brough, Hickenlooper's chief of staff.

"We take very seriously the expenditures we make for anything, and so I do understand that for all of us this is a lot of money. But it's also a very, very important job," Brough said.

Like the police equipment purchased in case of riots or terrorism, we hope that Stanley's expertise will largely go unneeded during the convention.

And no, Recreate '68, he won't let you see his plans.

As Michelle Malkin asks and answers--who is paying for it? You are!