For years, the city council of Bell, California, has been living high on the hog, and no one knew any better.  Senior members of the council were making some $96,000 per year; the city administrative officer, Robert Rizzo, was taking home a mind-blowing $787,000 per year, almost twice as much as President Barack Obama!  The other civic leaders were also taking home six-figure paychecks, which is amazing when you consider Bell is a working-class suburb of Los Angeles.  Now, thanks to the tireless efforts of citizen crusaders, Bell’s city council has voted to slash its own pay by 90 percent.

“Since my first day as mayor, my priority has been to make Bell a city its residents can be proud to call home,” said Bell Mayor Oscar Hernandez.  “I apologize that the council’s past decisions with regard to the indefensible administrative salaries have failed to meet that test.”  Hernandez will not run for re-election; he and Vice Mayor Teresa Jacobo will finish out their term without pay.  Bell’s city councilors will stay on the job, but at a lowered rate of $673 a month, which is still not bad for a part-time job.

I don’t know about you, but I think I might want to try to land myself a government job.  The pay is good and the perks are outstanding!

Tags: Bell, California, city council cuts its own pay 90 percent, city council votes to reduce pay, unusual politicians, government spending, Mayor Oscar Hernandez, Vice Mayor Teresa Jacobo, Bell Association To Stop The Abuse

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