WHY CALIFORNIANS ARE SO UPSET WITH GOVERNMENT
Ever wonder why we as Californians are so upset with government? Let's use
the City of Bell, California as an example.
The City of Bell is a small poor community of 38,000 residents southeast
of Los Angeles and the salary of its city administrator has been the center of
attention due to the obnoxious amount of money it pays for his salary and to key
management personnel along with its city council.
In a review by the Los Angeles Times, which broke the story, if it is true, the
city administrator makes nearly $800,000. This salary figure has stung the city
and the state, because of its outrageous amount but also reverberated across the
nation sending shock waves related to the issue of public sector compensation and
pension funds, specifically pensions that cannot be supported.
This issue has elevated an outcry of frustration from the citizens of Bell towards
its city officials, calling for if not demanding the immediate resignation of the
city administrator and city council.
The concerns stem from multiple facts. First this is a small community in the Los
Angeles Basin and it can be characterized as low income, thus casuing great concern
for anyone in local government to be paid this much. Second, it is wedged in
among communities where you cannot decipher where one starts and the other stops.
Illustrating that they do not even have the money to make physical improvements
welcoming those on business or visiting. In fact it lacks any memorable characteristics
that would appear to welcome you to a community of such a size, scale or scope that
such salaries could be let alone should be earned.
But apparently that is not the case in Bell. According to the review by the LA Times,
the city administrator, a 17 year veteran in this post has been allegedly receiving
12 percent annual increases in pay even during downturns such as the dot.com crash,
the slowing of the economy in 2003 and of course during this period of time when the
unemployment rate in the LA Basin is in excess of 12 percent. And all the while,
state and local governments have had to make cut backs through furloughs, postpone
salary increases if not actually lay people off and suffering a similar fate, the City
of Bell is also facing a deficit. But,there is no mention of any action to reduce management
salaries in any budget documents, specifically given that the city’s General Fund revenue
fell 4.6 percent to $14.1 million for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2010, according to
the city’s financial statement. The city’s expenses rose 2.3 percent to $15.9 million in the
same period.
Putting this in perspective, the city manager of Long Beach with 500,000 residents
makes a reported $235,000. The city manager of Manhattan Beach with a population
of 23,000 earns $257,000 and the city administrative officer of Los Angeles makes
roughly $257,000. Quoted in the July 14, 2010 article in the LA Times, "I have not
heard anything close to that number in terms of compensation or salary," said Dave
Mora, West Coast regional director of the International City/County Management Assn.,
and a retired city manager.
In an article by Christopher Palmeri for Bloomberg, he identified that the Los Angeles
County District Attorney’s Office has begun an inquiry into Bell council member pay,
according to Dave Demerjian, head of the office’s Public Integrity Division. He said
Bell council members were receiving $8,083 a month, mostly by serving on city-related
commissions. The investigation will identify if the city is breaking any state laws.
California Atty. Gen Jerry Brown
Meanwhile, California Attorney General Jerry Brown announced he has ordered an
investigation into high salaries paid to Bell’s elected leaders and top administrators,
calling their compensation packages “almost beyond belief.” Brown said the nearly
$800,000-a-year salary of Bell City Manager Robert Rizzo and salaries paid to the
city’s police chief, assistant city manager and City Council “morally borders on a
gift of public funds.” “It certainly doesn’t seem that the council exercised its
fiduciary duty to the people of Bell,’’ said Brown. Additionally, Brown said he had
directed attorneys in his office to “exhaust every possibility under California law’’
to determine if the city leaders had acted illegally. Brown expects a report back
within days.
But whether they are breaking any laws or not, the issue real or perceived is that
during such an economic downturn, the obnoxious amount of money for salaries,
specifically when compared to surrounding larger communities stokes the fires of
frustration of the resident and business person alike. Sure as the mayor identified
the streets are cleaner but we ask, at what cost?
There are two interesting letters that have been sent to the media from city manager
organizations in response to this matter. We thank James Spence of www.publicceo.com
Tim Johnson
tjohnson@CaliforniaBusinessMinute.com
Comments