Stung by PR gaffes, the state House speaker hired an outside consultant at a cost of $5,000 a month. HARRISBURG - The day after the state House voted to repeal the unpopular legislative pay raise, Rep. John M. Perzel took the first step in what some are calling the speaker's "extreme makeover." Perzel (R., Phila.) hired a public relations consultant on Nov. 15 to buff his image after months of brutal depictions in the media, mostly over the pay-raise issue. And you're paying for it: $5,000 a month. Perzel declined to be interviewed for this article.