An overflow crowd packed a City Council meeting in Bell, a mostly Hispanic city of 38,000 about 10 miles (16 kilometers) southeast of Los Angeles, to call for the resignation of Mayor Oscar Hernandez and other city officials. Residents left standing outside the chamber banged on the doors and shouted “fuera,” or “get out” in Spanish.
It was 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 $457,000, more than Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck makes in a city of 3.8 million people. Bell council members earn almost $100,000 for part-time work.
I really love the police chief's defense of his salary:
Adams said he had been brought in to end corruption in Bell’s police department.
Why would there be any corruption when the pay is so high?!! You'd have to be criminally stupid and greedy to do more stealing than just depositing your pay check!
I'm seriously stunned at the audacity of the Bell city government.
