Gov. Ed Rendell is crying poor, but he always seems to manage to find some taxpayer money to play with when it suits him or his political cronies.

Rendell hired Ken Snyder, a Philadelphia political strategist and media consultant &tstr; in the midst of a state employee hiring freeze he imposed &tstr; to advise him on publicity matters.

Snyder is working with the governor's Communications Office on getting the word out about the $18 billion in federal stimulus money coming into Pennsylvania over three years.

The governor is paying Snyder, a private contractor, $9,090 per month for part-time work (30 hours per week) through Jan. 31. The total outlay of taxpayer funds: $100,000.

Snyder is a long-time flack and political operative, having done public relations and campaign work for high-profile Philadelphia politicians, including Rendell himself.

The Snyder hire comes at a time when Rendell is calling on every department of state government &tstr; including the executive branch &tstr; to cut back to help close a more than $2 billion hole in the current state budget.

In addition to an administration-wide hiring freeze, Rendell has frozen the wages of some 13,000 nonunion state employees. He also is seeking contract concessions from unions, and has left open the possibility of layoffs or furloughs.

Administration officials say the hiring of a publicist is critical to getting the word out to Pennsylvanians about the federal stimulus money.

Few can dispute the need to do so, but why can't it be accomplished by existing personnel in the governor's Communications Office? Surely, they are capable people.

The officials also say it's cheaper than paying another full-time employee, which would require that the state pay health and retirement benefits. But who's talking about adding another full-time person?

This all shouldn't come as a surprise. The state, in general, is quick to hire outside help &tstr; for legal counsel, for example, while maintaining a full complement of in-house lawyers.

And Rendell has been down this road before.

In January, he named a political ally, former Democratic lawmaker Dan Surra, to a newly created post to promote "ecotourism" in the northern part of the state.

Sure, spending $100,000 to oil the state's publicity machine isn't going to break the bank. But it conflicts with the governor's stated intention to rein in wasteful government spending.

In short, it makes Rendell look like a hypocrite.