By Douglas V. Gibbs
As candidate for City Council in Murrieta, California, I support three initiatives authored by the Limited Government Political Action Committee that will be on the ballot in November. One of those initiatives is regarding Term Limits, and the other two are regarding the salaries for city administrators and city council members. As a Constitutionalist, I believe that though there should be compensation for service to the city, the monetary amount should not be so great that the money becomes the motivation for taking office.
The City of Bell has proven my point on how dangerous it can be when money becomes the motivating factor.
Bell is largely Hispanic, has a high population of illegal aliens that don't vote or get involved in the political process, and the city has a low revenue base. The city officials, however, have the highest salaries for any city of about 40,000 people. And, as expected, once the cat was let out of the bag, the citizens called for the City Manager, and the City Council, to step down.
The city officials in Bell awarded themselves salaries that leave jaws dropped to the ground. The City Manager's salary has been $800,000, his assistant's salary is $376,288, the police chief's salary is $457,000, and the city council members (which is a part-time duty) have been collecting $100,000 each (all per year).
I have been told that people don't serve their city for the money - but I believe the person that told me that may be sadly mistaken.
But how is it that the people were unaware of this?
California, as a state, is broke, and largely because of corruption. The cities, for the most part, have the same political machine running them, and politics has become more about money, than public service. Meanwhile, the people don't pay attention, blindly trust their officials, and in the case of Bell don't care because the population carries a significant amount of illegal aliens trying to hide under the wire.
The poorer cities seem to be the ones at the most risk. The accountability is low, the voter turnout is poor, and the transparency is practically absent.
The Los Angeles Times has reported that this is a scam that is perpetrated by "vultures" who "deliberately move into cities where they think it'll be easy pickings. Rizzo moved to Bell from Hesperia in 1993 at a salary of $72,000. By 2005, as Vives and Gottlieb reported, he was up to $442,000, and his contract was amended to give him 12% increases annually. The boobs on the City Council, meanwhile, altered the City Charter so they wouldn't have to comply with state guidelines on council salaries."
This is unbelievable, and is a great example of what can happen when local government is unchecked by active citizens.
Bell's example of what can happen in city politics is one of many reasons I support the Murrieta Initiatives that will limit the salaries and stipends of the city administrators and city council.
To do anything less would be. . . irresponsible.
-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary
The Bleeding Bell Blues - Los Angeles Times
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