The southern California town of Bell is being forced to refund nearly $3,000,000 in taxpayer money that was apparently used to line the pockets of city officials. Although Bell’s residents are by no means affluent, it was discovered several weeks ago that their city government officials were receiving exorbitantly high salaries– in some cases hundreds of thousands of dollars a year– and pension payments.
After the discovery, the city was embroiled in scandal, prompting California’s Lieutenant Governor, Abel Maldonado, to visit Bell and sign a bill refunding the taxpayers’ money and speak to the absurdity of the city officials’ actions. According to a CNN report, Maldonado also addressed other potentially corrupt city councils in his speech, saying that the state government was ready and willing to go after cities who misused funds in a manner similar to Bell.
This raises questions about another California locale, Vernon, just a few miles away from Bell, whose city officials, according to CNN, have apparently been receiving similar benefits, even as the city has had to resort to drastic measures such as mandatory furlough days to help alleviate its budget crisis.
