Double-dipping is wrong and must be stopped

What are taxpayers to think when a judge of high standing takes advantage of a loophole in the law to enrich himself? They are to think there is something terribly wrong with the law and that changes are required.
Taxpayers are also justified in wondering why someone of the stature of Judge Donald Ford of the 11th District Court of Appeals in Warren would put his reputation on the line by becoming just another greedy double-dipper on the public payroll.
We have long advocated an end to the practice of double-dipping. But to no one's surprise, the Ohio General Assembly, where good public policy is often sacrificed at the altar of personal gain, has failed to fully address this important issue.
Thus, Judge Ford and several of his colleagues around Ohio are drawing both government salaries and government pensions and in so doing are feeding the public's cynicism about government.
Re-election: In the Ford case, the 69-year-old judge retired on Dec. 31, after he was re-elected by the voters to another term on the bench. He then rejoined the court on Feb. 9. He got permission from Chief Justice Thomas Moyer of the Ohio Supreme Court to be excused from six days of hearings in January and February, which enabled him to meet the break-in-service provision of state law. In so doing, Ford became eligible to start collecting his $84,000 a year judicial pension and to receive his $112,550 a year salary as a judge.
The chief justice, who assigned two retired judges to handle cases during Judge Ford's absence, says he would not have approved Ford's request had he paid attention to the application that came across his desk. Moyer had previously told another appeals court judge who had called on Ford's behalf that he was opposed to judges' double-dipping and would not approve Ford's request.
"I guess I should take responsibility for not checking to see for which judge I was assigning," Moyer told The Associated Press. Yes, he should take responsibility, but the chief justice should also be concerned that his word to Ford's intermediary wasn't enough to squelch the deal.
Ohio's highest-ranking judge should demand an explanation from Judge Ford and the appeals court judge who called on his behalf as to what part of "no" they didn't understand.
From a strictly legal standpoint, Ford is breaking no law by drawing two government paychecks. But from a public standpoint, he has taken a step down from his lofty position on the appeals court bench.
Freshmen project: Double dipping is an ideal issue for freshmen in Ohio's House and Senate, who ran on the platform that government service should not be a life-long endeavor. There is precedence in Ohio law for doing away with double-dipping. Prior to June 30, 1991, most retired public employees forfeited their pensions if they worked for more than 59 days a year in a government job.