Well, it’s official. Civic engagement is the answer! Recent news reports about voting fraud and conflicts of interest in Bell, California, a Los Angeles suburb, underscore the importance of community members getting involved in public affairs.
Apparently Bell city officials lined their pockets with the nation’s most exorbitant local salaries despite budget cuts and layoffs. What? You haven’t heard this one. Wait. Let me share the outrage and disgust rippling through the nation, among California taxpayers, and with Bell residents appalled by the lack of integrity and accountability.
Among the shockers is the city manager who received an annual salary of $800,000 which is more than twice the amount any U.S. president’s salary. Then there’s the fact that city council members were paying themselves in excess of $100,000 for part-time jobs. They defended the salary until recently.
Local news reports highlighted how this happened and mounting regional and national investigations.
The Los Angeles Times reported that there is the possibility of inconsistencies with a local 2009 special election. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-bell-elections-20100728,0,4351844.story
The Sacramento Bee summarized the improprieties from soup to nuts. http://www.sacbee.com/2010/07/25/2911617/for-whom-does-the-bell-toll-all.html
The San Francisco Chronicle cited that Mayor Oscar Hernandez gave a statement and rational that “Since my first day as mayor, my priority has been to make Bell a city its residents can be proud to call home. I apologize that the council’s past decisions with regard to the indefensible administrative salaries have failed to meet that test.”
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2010/07/27/bloomberg1376-L670EE0UQVI901-1S7RTUR19KKPG9HOIB20JK85O8.DTL#ixzz0uylR1iST
Amidst the outrage, the Bell city council members slashed their excess salaries. High-ranking city officials resigned. Yet, all will likely keep their pensions. Is it just me, or is there still wrong with that picture?
With all the evidence emerging it’s imperative that citizens pay attention to public meetings and proceeding. Only getting outraged and taking action when there is a crisis is not the solution.
Media and residents everywhere can continue to be asleep at the wheel. But, do any of us have any excuse to be outraged if we do not first get involved in our communities and demand greater accountability and high ethical standards from our leaders? How about if we all just “get the memo” and stay consistently involved in public proceedings?
-Dawn McCoy, author of Leadership Building Blocks: An Insider’s Guide to Success and Effective Community Engagement: Seven Steps to Make a Real Difference (audio CD)
