Bell residents pack City Council meeting to determine future of embattled official [Updated]

Angry Bell residents Monday evening packed a City Council meeting at which officials were deciding the future of Chief Administrative Officer Robert Rizzo, under fire for his nearly $800,000 annual salary.

Hundreds of residents were at the meeting, which had been moved to the city's community center to accommodate the crowd. People crowded the lawn and spilled onto the street.

Bell's vice mayor said Monday afternoon that Rizzo would resign or be fired at the meeting. He makes $787,637 annually -- nearly twice the salary of President Obama.

Her comments followed an investigation in The Times reporting that Bell, one of the poorest cities in Los Angeles County, pays its top officials some of the highest salaries in the nation.

[Updated 8:41 p.m.: The City Council took no action against Rizzo and instead asked for a staff report on officials' salary.]

People waved signs that read "Stop the abuse on our taxes" and "Welcome to Bell, where the City Council makes more than you do. Also, we have nice parks." One sign depicted Mayor Oscar Hernandez with horns and holding a bag, with the caption, "Taxpayers' Money."

As council members went into closed session, residents shouted "Fuera!" "Fuera!" or "Out!" "Out!"

Other residents were collecting signatures to demand an audit of City Hall finances.

-- Jeff Gottlieb and Ruben Vives at Bell City Hall

INVESTIGATING BELL: A Times Special Report

-Is a city manager worth $800,000?

-Bell residents are not happy about high salaries

-High salaries fuel anger in Bell

-Bell council members under investigation for $100,000 salaries

-Video: Why do Bell officials make so much money? The Times' Jeff Gottlieb explains.

-Bell city manager might be highest paid in nation

-- Jeff Gottlieb and Ruben Vives at City Hall

Comments

[Maywood12]

The reason why these City officials get paid so much is because most South East Communities in Los Angeles County (H.P, South Gate, Bell, Maywood, and Cudahy) have little to zero community participation when it comes to City government. The mostly immigrant communities of the South East have more important things to worry about like trying to make ends meet in a difficult economy. This is a prime example of how elected City officials, sometimes with only about 2%-3% voter turn out, win elections and since no one is actually paying attention, give themselves massive pay raises. It is an unfortunate reality of these communities. Unethical officials taking advantage of the system. The should all be fired. City Council for approving the pay raises and the Administrators for having the audacity of ripping people off. Because in the end that's what they are doing. They disgrace themselves

[Omar Loya]

Once they are through with the City Manager and Assistant Manager, I'm hoping the good people of the City of Bell take their City Council to task for allowing this to happen and for paying themselves so much money.

[Carlos Reyes]

The entire City of Bell is corrupt. City Hall requires a permit for any vehicle entering in to do work in this little corrupt City of Bell, otherwise the police impound your vehicle. The people who work at City Hall are 'nasty' and tied in with the local Bell Towing Company, et al. District Attorney needs to take a good look at this atrocity.

[Anthony]

Good for the residents of Bell for standing up to these crooked officials who have abused their power.

I hope they keep putting pressure on City Council and real action is taken.

[GaryB.]

The LA Times should be ashamed for their irresponsible reporting...it's the City Council that needs to answers taxpayers questions...not the City Manager...he has worked there some 17-years, and with raises and performance bonuses (all which the City Council has approved no doubt) you make it sound like he has stolen the money...did the City Council including the new member NOT approve the monthly expenditure of salary and budget allocations?...and now, trying to fire him, he will collect a hefty PERS retirement sum for the rest of his life, and probably end up taking the City of Bell to court for being fired for no cause...was his performance satisfactory?...people who make $35,000 a year have no idea what it takes to run a City, so the wrong people are being placed in the spotlight...

[Al]

He should get the raise.

[Ron]

This is siimply and utterly disgusting that this guy makes this much money. He is a criminal or a bank robber as far as I'm concerned. He better be smart and hire bodyguards because angry citizens are going to tear his head off in public.

[SuperGrandeFilms]

Very good to see this being reported. These salaries are outrageous.

[Don Auger]

Wish I had a job that gave me a 12% raise every year especially in this economy.
Mr. Rizzo is not in the private sector and is a public servant. Just because he thinks he can make this kind of money in the private sector does not justify his wages as a public servant.