California Official's $800,000 Salary in City of 38,000 Triggers Protests
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The thing is that it took publicizing this to the world before someone higher up took a closer look.
Salaries are part of the budget process. Why wasn't it questioned at that level ..during review ?
Location: Georgia, on the Florida line, right above Tallahassee
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Scandal erupts in Bell; charges against city leaders being considered (800K salary, Your Government at Work.)
Brown Subpoenas Records of California City Paying Manager $800,000 a Year - Bloomberg (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-07-26/brown-subpoenas-records-of-california-city-paying-manager-800-000-a-year.html - broken link)
California Attorney General Jerry Brown subpoenaed hundreds of employment, salary and contract records from the city of Bell, whose manager was paid almost $800,000 a year and resigned last week.
Brown said he is considering whether to initiate civil or criminal action against city leaders. Hundreds of citizens marched through city streets yesterday to demand the resignation of the mayor and other council members.
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Wasn't an issue. Until noticed by mass media.... And with an election coming up. THIS IS AN OUTRAGE!!!!
For comparison, the president of the United States makes $400 K + position benefits.
The Bell police chief pulls in $457,000, more than twice as much as New York City's police commissioner.
Bell City Manager Robert Rizzo has an assistant. She makes $376,288 a year.
Bell, by the way, is a fairly undistinguished community in the maze of cities that run together just south of downtown Los Angeles. Huntington Park, Commerce, Cudahy, South Gate and Maywood are its neighbors. Bell's population is 90 percent Latino. Its per capita income is about half the national average, making it one of the poorest cities in Los Angeles County.
So why the big bucks? Well, the city is solvent, unlike some, and there may be a bit of an I'll-scratch-your-back-if-you'll-scratch-mine thing going on. The five City Council members who set Rizzo's pay each receive just over $94,000 a year from the city — about the size of Rizzo's next scheduled raise.
Just heard on a local talk radio show (KFI 640 am, John & Ken Show) that it appears it was the Bell Police Department, or an organization of the dept, who tipped off the LA Times about possible wrongdoing going on in the city. At the city council meeting tonight, it's rumored the city council will dissolve the police department, in retaliation. Tons of media are at city hall now. There will be a protest at 5 pm, city council meeting at 7 pm.
The mayor of bell said he will not seek re-election when his term expires this march & will not take a paycheck. The other 3 city council members said they will take a paycut. The bell police dept are the ones who told the L.A. times about the high salaries & corruption in city hall. They dont like the bum police chief randy adams who will retire at the end of next month. The L.A. times should do a story on the city i live in.
Brown Subpoenas Records of California City Paying Manager $800,000 a Year - Bloomberg (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-07-26/brown-subpoenas-records-of-california-city-paying-manager-800-000-a-year.html - broken link)
California Attorney General Jerry Brown subpoenaed hundreds of employment, salary and contract records from the city of Bell, whose manager was paid almost $800,000 a year and resigned last week.
Brown said he is considering whether to initiate civil or criminal action against city leaders. Hundreds of citizens marched through city streets yesterday to demand the resignation of the mayor and other council members.
********************
Wasn't an issue. Until noticed by mass media.... And with an election coming up. THIS IS AN OUTRAGE!!!!
For comparison, the president of the United States makes $400 K + position benefits.
The Bell police chief pulls in $457,000, more than twice as much as New York City's police commissioner.
Bell City Manager Robert Rizzo has an assistant. She makes $376,288 a year.
Bell, by the way, is a fairly undistinguished community in the maze of cities that run together just south of downtown Los Angeles. Huntington Park, Commerce, Cudahy, South Gate and Maywood are its neighbors. Bell's population is 90 percent Latino. Its per capita income is about half the national average, making it one of the poorest cities in Los Angeles County.
So why the big bucks? Well, the city is solvent, unlike some, and there may be a bit of an I'll-scratch-your-back-if-you'll-scratch-mine thing going on. The five City Council members who set Rizzo's pay each receive just over $94,000 a year from the city — about the size of Rizzo's next scheduled raise.
Eight current and former officials in the blue-collar city of Bell, including former City Manager Robert Rizzo, were arrested Tuesday in a corruption investigation into bloated salaries and misuse of taxpayer funds.
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Scandal erupts in Bell; charges against city leaders being considered (800K salary, Your Government at Work.)
