What once was genius is now being viewed as a liability. When Maywood was struggling to survive last year, it closed its city hall and police operations, instead contracting with neighboring Bell. The story of Bell is now infamous.

But Maywood is now struggling to discover how to move forward, turning their financial and municipal fortunes around.

Shortly after the scandal broke, the city hired Lilian Myers as city manager, but with missing basic financial reports, and no budget or framework to provide guidance, it was slow going.

The saga of turning Maywood around tells a tale of going against all odds.

From the Los Angeles Times:

The small town of Maywood drew national attention last year when it disbanded the Police Department, laid off virtually all its workers and outsourced City Hall operations to neighboring Bell.

But nearly a year later, an experiment hailed by some as an act of municipal genius is considered by many residents to be a huge blunder.

Just weeks after Bell took over government operations, the city was embroiled in a salary scandal. Corruption charges were filed against Angela Spaccia, the Bell assistant city administrator brought in to run Maywood, along with several other officials. Maywood has lumbered for nine months without a formal budget, and residents have complained about a decline in some basic city services.

Read the full article here.