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California Mayor Regrets ‘Indefensible’ Salaries (Update1)
The mayor of Bell, California, whose municipal pay records have been subpoenaed by Attorney General Jerry Brown, apologized for what he called the city’s “indefensible administrative salaries.”
Oscar Hernandez, paid almost $100,000 as part-time mayor of the 38,000-population town about 10 miles (16 kilometers) south of Los Angeles, said he’ll serve the remainder of his term, ending in March, without pay, according to a statement today.
Brown said he’s subpoenaed hundreds of employment, salary and contract records from the city of Bell, whose manager had an annual salary of almost $800,000 and resigned last week.
The attorney general said he’s considering civil or criminal action against city leaders. Hundreds of citizens marched through Bell’s streets yesterday to demand the resignation of the mayor and other council members.
“My priority has been to make Bell a city its residents can be proud to call home,” Hernandez said in the statement. “I apologize that the council’s past decisions with regard to the indefensible administrative salaries have failed to meet that test.”
Bell has a largely Latino population with a per-capita income of $24,800 in 2008, according to the city’s latest annual report. More than a quarter of its residents live below the poverty level, according to the website City-Data.com.
Administrative Officer
The chief administrative officer, Robert Rizzo, resigned July 22 after the Los Angeles Times reported his total compensation was almost $800,000 a year and that Bell’s part- time council members took in almost $100,000 annually, mostly by serving on city-affiliated boards and commissions.
Brown, 72, a former California secretary of state and governor, is running as the Democratic gubernatorial candidate against former EBay Inc. Chief Executive Officer Meg Whitman, who is on the Republican ticket.
“I’m determined to get to the bottom of these exorbitant payouts and protect the state’s pension system against such abuses,” Brown said of his investigation of Bell.
To contact the reporter responsible for this story: Christopher Palmeri in Los Angeles at cpalmeri1@bloomberg.net.
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