07-20-2010, 05:28 PM
I think our city was getting close to this kind of government. We'll have to see how things go over the next 3 years.
Calif. town that fired all employees and outsourced all services is thriving, while the town now providing those services may be corrupt
By: Mark Hemingway
Commentary Staff Writer
07/20/10 2:55 PM EDT
A few weeks ago, the town of Maywood, California grabbed some headlines by announcing it was firing all the city employees and contracting out all city services â many of them to the next town over. The New York Times follows up with a report that shows that since the decision the sky isnât falling:
At first, people in this poor, long-troubled and heavily Hispanic city southeast of Los Angeles braced for anarchy.
Senior citizens were afraid they would be assaulted as they walked down the street. Parents worried the parks would be shut and their children would have nowhere to safely play. Landlords said their tenants had begun suggesting that without city-run services they would no longer feel obliged to pay rent.
The apocalypse never arrived. In fact, it seems this city was so bad at being a city that outsourcing â so far, at least â is being viewed as an act of municipal genius.
âWe donât want to be the model for other cities to lay off their employees,â said Magdalena Prado, a spokeswoman for the city who works on contract. âBut our residents have been somewhat pleased.â
However, this anecdote about how dysfunctional Maywoodâs politics had been was pretty shocking:
Four years ago, in what was probably the high-water mark of acrimony in Maywood, a deputy city clerk was arrested and accused of soliciting a hit man to kill a city councilman. The deputy clerk, Hector Duarte, was concerned that his salary might be reduced or his job eliminated during a previous round of bad fiscal times; he was sentenced to a year in jail and six months of anger management counseling.
This time, the councilman, Felipe Aguirre, has received no threats and has seen remarkably little anger.
Interestingly, the Times doesnât say anything about Bell, California. Bell is adjacent to Maywood, and Maywood is outsourcing many of its city services to Bell in the wake of the firings. Last week, the Los Angeles Times reported on the salaries of public servants in Bell:
Bell, one of the poorest cities in Los Angeles County, pays its top officials some of the highest salaries in the nation, including nearly $800,000 annually for its city manager, according to documents reviewed by The Times.
In addition to the $787,637 salary of Chief Administrative Officer Robert Rizzo, Bell pays Police Chief Randy Adams $457,000 a year, about 50% more than Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck or Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca and more than double New York Cityâs police commissioner. Assistant City Manager Angela Spaccia makes $376,288 annually, more than most city managers.
The city manager who is paid nearly $800,000? He gets automatic 12 percent raises â âHis last raise was $84,389.76. Next July, he will receive a $94,516 pay hike.â You have to wonder what their retirement packages are cost.
It gets worse â the local district attorney is looking into this cozy arrangement:
The district attorney is investigating Bell over the hefty compensation of its City Council members â about $100,000 a year for part-time positions. Normally, council members in a city the size of Bell would be paid about $400 a month, Demerjian said.
The council has increased its compensation by paying members for serving on a variety of city agencies, including the Community Redevelopment Agency, the Community Housing Authority, the Planning Commission, the Public Financing Authority, the Surplus Property Authority and the Solid Waste and Recycling Authority.
Demerjian said city records show each council member receives $7,873.25 per month for sitting on those boards.
Despite paying all this money to city officials, it appears that Bellâs finances are a mess:
Bell has sold two general obligation bond issues totaling $50 million in the past six years, according to prospectuses for the bonds and information in the cityâs annual financial statement for 2009. In that time, its debt has risen to $1,972 per capita in 2009 from $599 in 2004, according to its annual financial statement.
Itâs not exactly a mystery why California is in such trouble. From the local governments to the statehouse, itâs one of the worst governed states in America.
Calif. town that fired all employees and outsourced all services is thriving, while the town now providing those services may be corrupt
By: Mark Hemingway
Commentary Staff Writer
07/20/10 2:55 PM EDT
A few weeks ago, the town of Maywood, California grabbed some headlines by announcing it was firing all the city employees and contracting out all city services â many of them to the next town over. The New York Times follows up with a report that shows that since the decision the sky isnât falling:
At first, people in this poor, long-troubled and heavily Hispanic city southeast of Los Angeles braced for anarchy.
Senior citizens were afraid they would be assaulted as they walked down the street. Parents worried the parks would be shut and their children would have nowhere to safely play. Landlords said their tenants had begun suggesting that without city-run services they would no longer feel obliged to pay rent.
The apocalypse never arrived. In fact, it seems this city was so bad at being a city that outsourcing â so far, at least â is being viewed as an act of municipal genius.
âWe donât want to be the model for other cities to lay off their employees,â said Magdalena Prado, a spokeswoman for the city who works on contract. âBut our residents have been somewhat pleased.â
However, this anecdote about how dysfunctional Maywoodâs politics had been was pretty shocking:
Four years ago, in what was probably the high-water mark of acrimony in Maywood, a deputy city clerk was arrested and accused of soliciting a hit man to kill a city councilman. The deputy clerk, Hector Duarte, was concerned that his salary might be reduced or his job eliminated during a previous round of bad fiscal times; he was sentenced to a year in jail and six months of anger management counseling.
This time, the councilman, Felipe Aguirre, has received no threats and has seen remarkably little anger.
Interestingly, the Times doesnât say anything about Bell, California. Bell is adjacent to Maywood, and Maywood is outsourcing many of its city services to Bell in the wake of the firings. Last week, the Los Angeles Times reported on the salaries of public servants in Bell:
Bell, one of the poorest cities in Los Angeles County, pays its top officials some of the highest salaries in the nation, including nearly $800,000 annually for its city manager, according to documents reviewed by The Times.
In addition to the $787,637 salary of Chief Administrative Officer Robert Rizzo, Bell pays Police Chief Randy Adams $457,000 a year, about 50% more than Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck or Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca and more than double New York Cityâs police commissioner. Assistant City Manager Angela Spaccia makes $376,288 annually, more than most city managers.
The city manager who is paid nearly $800,000? He gets automatic 12 percent raises â âHis last raise was $84,389.76. Next July, he will receive a $94,516 pay hike.â You have to wonder what their retirement packages are cost.
It gets worse â the local district attorney is looking into this cozy arrangement:
The district attorney is investigating Bell over the hefty compensation of its City Council members â about $100,000 a year for part-time positions. Normally, council members in a city the size of Bell would be paid about $400 a month, Demerjian said.
The council has increased its compensation by paying members for serving on a variety of city agencies, including the Community Redevelopment Agency, the Community Housing Authority, the Planning Commission, the Public Financing Authority, the Surplus Property Authority and the Solid Waste and Recycling Authority.
Demerjian said city records show each council member receives $7,873.25 per month for sitting on those boards.
Despite paying all this money to city officials, it appears that Bellâs finances are a mess:
Bell has sold two general obligation bond issues totaling $50 million in the past six years, according to prospectuses for the bonds and information in the cityâs annual financial statement for 2009. In that time, its debt has risen to $1,972 per capita in 2009 from $599 in 2004, according to its annual financial statement.
Itâs not exactly a mystery why California is in such trouble. From the local governments to the statehouse, itâs one of the worst governed states in America.