LA Times:
At the same time that top Bell officials were receiving some of the fattest municipal salaries in the nation, the city cut spending on police, social services, and parks and recreation, according to interviews and records reviewed by The Times.
While City Manager Robert Rizzo was receiving more than $700,000 a year, Rosario Torres was laid off from her $9-an-hour job preparing children for kindergarten.
"They tell you they don't have the money to pay you, and you think 'OK, I understand, they just don't have the money,' " Torres said. "But I never imagined they were making so much money themselves. It's incredible."
The cuts underscore questions about how Bell handled its finances in recent years. City officials have defended Rizzo's high salary, saying his leadership allowed Bell to avoid many of the cuts and financial problems surrounding cities have faced amid the recession.
Rizzo told The Times earlier this month that Police Chief Randy Adams was brought in to turn around a department riddled with problems. The city had enough money to pay Adams $457,000 a year, yet it had earlier reduced funding for officer training, such as quarterly sessions at the firing range.
Details of the cuts came from interviews and from Bell's Comprehensive Financial Report for fiscal year 2009, the latest available.
The report shows that community services, including social services and recreation programs, were cut by 21%, or $593,438, while public safety took a 3.7% hit, or $228,888. Police training was whacked by 58%.
The salaries of Rizzo, Adams and Assistant City Manager Angela Spaccia are equal to about 10% of Bell's $15.9-million general fund budget
Update: Attorney general Jerry Brown issued subpoenas in Bell salary scandal. Click here.
Update 2: Bell council agrees to roll back its salary 90% [$673 a month]. Mayor in the city of Bell, whom protesters wanted him removed from office, said he will finish his term without pay and will not seek another term as the city’s mayor. Read more
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