$787,000 salary for Bell city manager is outrageous, assemblyman says

Outrage is growing over revelations in The Times that the small city of Bell pays its top administrators some of the highest salaries in the nation.

Assemblyman Hector De La Torre (D-South Gate), who authored a 2005 bill that limited some City Council salaries, expressed outrage over the salaries that Bell is paying top administrators.

“The president of the United States and other public servants who oversee much more complicated and sophisticated operations make much less than these city officials,” he said. “I think that makes it really clear these salaries are overdone.”

The City Council “is completely avoiding their fiduciary responsibility to the taxpayer,” he said.

The Times reported Thursday that Chief Administrative Officer Robert Rizzo earns nearly twice the salary of President Obama, Police Chief Randy Adams gets paid about 50% more than Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck, and Assistant City Manager Angela Spaccia receives more than the chief executive for Los Angeles County.

Rizzo makes $787,637, Adams makes $457,000, and Spaccia makes $376,288.

Bell is being investigated by the Los Angeles County district attorney's office over the compensation of its City Council members, who receive about $100,000 a year for their part-time positions. In a city the size of Bell, a council member is typically paid about $400 a month, according to state records.

Bell made headlines in recent weeks when the city of 37,000 agreed to take over operations of the neighboring city of Maywood, which fired most of its employees and disbanded its police department when it could not obtain insurance.

-- Jeff Gottlieb

Comments

[Watch City of Bell]

Hector De La Torre has never done anything good for the 50th district and now he comes to light when media is involved. http://watchcityofbell.blogspot.com/

[Harris]

so ....the city is in drowning in debt and they're making hundreds of thousands of dollars... awesome way to get the people of your cities to trust their goverment officials.

[USMufdvr]

Bell is predominately 90 % illegal alien

[Fred]

Thanks for adding ammunition to the cries of "cut everything" crowd. Education is getting hammered......

[debra]

between supporting illegals and way over paid city managers, does any body wonder why ca.is going broke?

[Ray Watters]

The city of Bell is a microcosm of a third-world country where the ignorant and uneducated populace have no idea that while they live in poverty their dictator (in this case...dictators) lives an opulent lifestyle. This didn't happen the past week or the past month. This has been going on for quite some time and the citizens didn't have the intelligence to learn how their city government works. You can bet those highly-paid "civil servants" knew this and took advantage of it.

[pasadena jag]

All the political hacks need salary cuts. They are barely mid-level management.

[kaabob]

Great job, LA Times. Breaking open stories like these is some of the best things the media can do.

[reader]

How do I sign in here to comment?

[True Freedom]

I'll do the job for a quarter mil. Y'all will save over $500K per year! Vote: True Freedom!

[Tony Carranza]

I think that just like any other city they abuse our system. I ask myself this question? why do we let this happen? Why do we need to pay high taxes for this thieves to enjoy and spent all our tax money in themselves? There are better ways investing our tax money like in over crowing school, after school programs and rehab programs. It sad to see 90% percent of hard working Latinos working hard in this country for the abuse that the City Of Bell gives them. They no different for the city of Maywood....

[John L Mendez]

It's mind-boggling how insidious GREED is and how politicians embrace it.

[Dan Harrison]

The key question is, how long will it take for Bell City to replace their city council, and for the new city council to replace all the city administrators with individuals that earn an appropriate salary?

I hope that appropriate members of California's government will play an active role in the process. Somebody should ask the candidates for governor what they think of the situation.

[Astonished]

My parents taught me to be frugal, honest, up-standing and to have high morals. They also taught me to work hard, do the best job I can for the money I make and to never take advantage. BOY WERE THEY WRONG! AND BOY AM I IN THE WRONG PROFESSION!!

[M]

I don't think any government official should be paid, with taxpayer money, a salary that is more than the President of the United States. They're practically stealing from the city.

[Alex]

This government waiste (such as for City of Bell) goes on (to a lesser extent) in every government office !!! It all ads up to milions and millions (billions ? ) each year.

The only solution is to have every city, county and state:

1) Declare bankrupcy, The government financial system is a SEWER that must be cleaned up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
2) Re-negotiate ALL contracts (unions, pensions, salaries, etc),
3)Under a business plan, re-structure pay grades for ALL government officials, to be consistent with pay scales in the private sector!!!
4) NO MORE TAXES.

[JEFF CHAVEZ]

THIS IS BEYOND BELIEVABLE, I THINK IT'S TIME FOR THE RESIDENTS OF BELL TO START ASKING QUESTIONS.
FROM BAIL BONDSMAN http://allamericanbailbonds.net/

[warrior]

Im so glad this is finally being exposed..these people have been getting away with this for years.....I sure hope these people get jail time just like the Mayor of Compton and the officals from South Gate, the scandles is the same

[ceh6096]

Its about time something is being done

[Al]

I believe it is time for a federal civil rights investigation and/or corruption investigation into Bell city officials. the City Managers office and Police Chief Randy Adams is warranted. The former Assitant City Manager of Bell is now the Interim City Manager for Maywood which now contracts it's services from Bell. The Police Chief get's over 437,000 a year to manage a tiny police department on top a nearly 200,000 retirement from CalPers, the City Manager gets a salary of nearly 800,000. Hello FBI? DOJ? These people are taking advantage of the latino immigrants...do something

[Fed Up]

De La Torre is upset because he's not making that kind of money.

[Martin]

With the way unemployment is now these people should be ashamed who monitors these crooks when honest people who have been laid off due to down sizing or cut backs can't find a job and feed there family these overpaid windbags think they deserve that type of pay they should be banned from running for any type of office and pay the city back with interest. That is ashame

[Hugo Castaneda]

HECTOR DE LA TORRE has done a great deal for the State, County, & City when he was at South Gate he cleaned House of a similar situation to the City of Bell...but lets not focus on that...I want accountability of this moneys as a Resident and Business Owner....if the City of Bell pushes me to clean here to fix there and most of to pay....where is my money going and why its going the?
Please give an explanation like if I was a five years old......

[Carmen]

All the residents of THE CITY OF BELL SHOULD ATTEND THE COUNCIL MEETING SCHEDULED FOR MONDAY JULY 19, 2010 AT 7:00 P.M. AT THE CITY OF BELL CITY HALL TO PROTEST AND MAKE THEMSELVES BE HEARD THAT THIS IS AN OUTRAGE!!!

[jacqueline]

I can't believe this was going on...then again its shouldn't be a surprise! How can they steal money from there people?! as a resident of Bell, I've always seen cops stop nothing but latinos for no reason given! Our school system under paid teachers! And they award themselves this kind of money...what an abuse. Have they taken time and read The Constitution?