We've been talking about the outrage in a Los Angeles suburb after it came to light that city officials/crooks were being paid enormous sums of money to run a poor city. Check out the protests that ensued.
Last week Lou brought to light the awful situation in Bell, California: The city's personal income was $24,800 per capita in 2008. That compares with an average of $32,819 nationwide. Bell debt has risen to nearly $2,000 per capita in 2009 from $600 in 2004. It's a mostly Hispanic city of 38,000, about 10 miles Southeast of Los Angeles.
But hundreds of residents came out in full force and full throat to a pack City Council meeting, the first council meeting since the Los Angeles Times reported July 15 that Chief Administrative Officer Robert Rizzo earns $787,637 -- with annual 12 percent raises -- and that Bell pays its police chief Randy Adams $457,000, 50% more than Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck makes in a city of 3.8 million people. Assistant City Manager Angela Spaccia makes nearly $400K. Four out of five Bell city council members earn almost $100,000 for part-time work.
After the city nearly rioted, those three grossly overpaid city officials will resign: City Manager Robert Rizzo, Police Chief Randy Adams and Assistant City Manager Angela Spaccia will not receive severance packages. Rizzo will step down at the end of August and Spaccia will leave at the end of September. Adams will also leave at the end of August, after completing an evaluation of the Police Department.
The crowd erupted in applause after the announcement but immediately yelled out questions about what would happen to the council members. Four of the five are paid close to $100,000 annually. When their questions were not answered, they shouted, "Recall!" More protests ensued.
ReasonTV went down to the scene to chronicle the story, and here's what their report found:
Produced by Ted Balaker and Tim Cavanaugh, who also hosts. Camera by Zach Weissmueller and Sam Corcos. Edited by Weissmueller.
