California City That Outsourced Everyone Is Snared by Pay Scandal in Bell

[WestVirginiaRebel]

Bloomberg:

Maywood’s City Council will discuss whether to cancel contracts to manage municipal services that it entered into with neighboring Bell in light of the pay scandal in that California municipality, Councilman Felipe Aguirre said.

Maywood, a city of 28,000 located 8 miles (13 kilometers) south of Los Angeles, drew national attention in June by deciding to replace all of its workers with contractors, including some from the city of Bell. Since then, a pay scandal has roiled Bell and led to the resignations of top officials there. Activists in Maywood have called for an end to the Bell services contracts.

“We’re going to revisit that issue,” Aguirre, a Democrat, said in a telephone interview. “We couldn’t discuss that at last night’s council meeting because it wasn’t on the agenda.”

Amid reports that Bell’s payroll included almost $800,000 a year for Robert Rizzo, the city manager, Rizzo quit last month, Mayor Oscar Hernandez said in a statement. Angela Spaccia, the assistant city manager, and Police Chief Randy Adams also left.

California Controller John Chiang said today that he will require cities to post salary information on his office’s website starting in November.

“The absence of transparency is a breeding ground for waste, fraud, and abuse of taxpayer dollars,” Chiang, a Democrat who is running for re-election, said in a statement. “A single website with accessible information will make sure that excessive pay is no longer able to escape public scrutiny and accountability.”

‘People are Upset’

Last week, Spaccia also quit as Maywood’s interim city manager, according to Magdalena Prado, a municipal spokeswoman. Spaccia didn’t respond to a request for comment.

“People are upset that we’re giving money to a city that raised taxes and gave themselves higher wages,” said Sam Pena, a Maywood city councilor and mayor from 1999 to 2007, in a telephone interview. “Is this the kind of city we want to be associated with?”
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Well, the Congresscritters in Washington do it all the time...