The phone still rings in the city of Bell.
Yes, it’s been busy lately. The woman who answered the city phone on Thursday afternoon admitted that they’re getting used to the calls. So much so that the city set up a separate line for all media inquiries.
That line went to a voicemail. Busy, yes. Accommodating to the media? Nope. No phone call was returned.
Maybe they just weren’t ready to talk about it yet.
Just as it seemed like things might be calming down for the small city, more shocking news was released on Friday afternoon, as Interim Bell City Manager Pedro Carrillo announced that there were more Bell city employees receiving high salaries.
The newly released information, according to The Los Angeles Times: at least seven additional city employees were making “more than the average city manager in Los Angeles County.” The additional ridiculously high salaries include two who made more than $400,000 a year and three who made more than $200,000. These positions include:
- The director of administrative services, $422,707;
- director of general services, $421,402;
- the director of community services, $273,542;
- business development coordinator, $295,627;
- and a police captain earning $238,075.
The names of the employees were not immediately released.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Carrillo said the city attorney would immediately launch a salary study to insure that salaries are commensurate with experience and the area. The newspaper also reported that several activists disrupted the news conference, furious at the new revelations.
Yes, the scandal is still growin after the initial reports that Bell City Manager was earning $787,637 per year, while Police Chief Randy Adams was paid $457,000 and Assistant City Manager Angela Spaccia made $376,000.
Oddly enough, they can’t afford to pay someone to return calls to the media.
James Spencer can be reached at jspencer@publicceo.com