When the LA Times turns against you it might be time to reconsider your strategy. I’m not going to add much commentary to this, it essentially speaks for itself, but to summarize:
Population: 37,000
Salaries:
City Manager $790,000 (with a $95,000 increase per year)
Police Chief $450,000
Assistant City Manager $375,000
Mayor $100,000
Councilman $100,000
Councilwoman $100,000
Councilman $100,000
Councilman $100,000
Disgraceful.
Comments 7
Al Capone is spinning in his grave. He belatedly realizes that he should have gone into government work, properly practicing his unique managerial skills. Then he could have stolen LEGALLY.
If you have not read the LA TIMES story about the city of Bell, CA, it’s worth taking the time. The arrogance of the city bureaucrats is simply breathtaking.
Here’s my favorite quote by the part-time city manager who makes $800K — “If that’s a number (his salary) people choke on, maybe I’m in the wrong business,” he said. “I could go into private business and make that money. This council has compensated me for the job I’ve done.”
I didn’t know that a Wal-Mart greeter could make that kind of money!
And remember, when this clown retires, his pension could easily be a half million or more a year — and I suspect he hasn’t had to pay the employee pension contributions while he “worked” for the city.
As an investor, I just wish that I could figure out how to bet that Bell goes BK. Unfortunately your can’t “short” the stock of a city. Maybe their muni bonds . . . hmmmm. . . .
The worst part of this story is that these Bell bozos have raised the bar for abusive government compensation and pensions. Thugs like these can actually make our local government con artists seem almost saintly in comparison.
Yes, it is an outrage, but the voters can vote the council and mayor out of office and the new council can hire a new city manager making far less. But what if this city manager is really worth this $$$? What if he is really that good?
Personally, I believe that politicians run to serve the people (I am an idealist) and that the salary and benefit package should be very small (Politicians should be relying on a “real” job for their real salary and benefits. A city should not be paying for medical and retirement).
PublicCEO Exclusive Breaking News – Monday, July 19 at 6:36 p.m.
Bell City Manager Making $800k Expected To Be Fired, Or Resign
The curtain was pulled back, and now the wizard will lose his job.
After it was reported last week by the Los Angeles Times that the small city of Bell’s City Manager, Robert Rizzo, was making a salary close to $800,000, the Vice Mayor of Bell said on Monday that Rizzo will resign or be fired. Read more…
http://www.publicceo.com/index.php/local-governments/151-local-governments-publicceo-exclusive/1719-bell-city-manager-making-800k-expected-to-be-fired-or-resign
Poway Roger, to answer your question about the value of the city manager. A city of this size usually pays it’s city council about $5,000 a year. The city council critters in Bell make $100,000.
What if the city council members “really are that good”? Well, if they are, now come these dodos don’t realize that paying “their” city manager $800K is off the charts in opulence — and didn’t realize such an absurd salary was so much higher than others make doing the same (or a far more demanding) job as city manager elsewhere?
I’m not much for conspiracy theories. But the blatant rip-off by the city manager, the ASSISTANT city manager, the police chief AND the city council sure looks to me like a cabal of conspirators.
Poway Roger, you suggest the problem is solved when City Manager Rizzo is fired and a lower-priced replacement is hired. Not so.
Based on the time Rizzo has worked for the city, This con artist will receive AT LEAST a $350,000 annual pension — more likely $400K-$450K (plus annual COL increases) The city will have to pay CalPERS big bucks for the pension shortfall they now owe for underfunding all such pensions — especially Rizzo’s. That pension is at least double the SALARY of a typical small town city manager — Rizzo’s replacement.
Similar pension obligations await the city if they dump their $100K city council critters. Hopefully the other two senior bureaucrats can be fired before they are vested in the pension plan — and should be fired.
And trust me — that pension money won’t be spent in Bell. With that kind of high income pension, it’s likely this now-unpopular fellow will move out of not only Bell but the high-tax state of California. Popular or not — it’s EXTREMELY common for City Managers to leave the town they earned their living in.
Part of the problem is that politicians look at the short term solution-they really don’t look at the long term problem. Yes, the retirement adds up, but on an off topic, why do we allow politicians to collect retirement from their jobs as politicians? They should NOT be making politics into a career. Get rid of their medical benefits too, all of them. Politicians should be part time and rely on another job for their retirement and medical and other associated perks they get.
On another subject, why must the politicians in Sacramento get paid after June 30 if the budget hasn’t been passed? The governor talks about paying state workers minimum wage during this “crisis”, but the politicians still get paid. Think about it-The politicians are really the ones who created this problem, so since it is their job to fix it, they shouldn’t get paid until a REAL fix (No smoke and mirrors, no relying on over optimistic revenue projects, none of those gimmicks) occurs. AND they don’t get the money they lost during the budget “crisis”.
VERY interesting point on not paying benefits to politicians. Coincidentally I wrote a comment and letter to the editor this AM on this very topic — strongly supporting your suggestion. Perhaps I should post it on this blog as an item.