Start Date
19-2-2015 12:00 AM
Description
Before the scandal broke there were plenty of Bell residents that felt something was really wrong with city government. The residents of Bell had no real proof. Getting information was nearly impossible, but there were signs that something was wrong. For example, how does a councilmember from a working class community, where the median income was $30,000 a year, afford to drive around in a $100,000 Mercedes Benz -- when his main source of income was a small corner market? Or, why did property taxes continue to increase, but services continued to decline? And, why did so many Latino teenagers get pulled over and have their cars impounded for the slightest infractions, such as expired tags or a broken tail light, and then had to pay nearly $1,000 in fines and impound fees to get their cars back?
Several community members had tried to find out councilmembers’ and top administrators’ salaries, and had also asked questions about how bond money was being spent, but had failed to get any answers. Every request for public records was rejected by the city attorney. To get that information they would have to sue the city using the Public Records Act. Some residents knew that if they sued, they would likely win, but no attorneys would help file the lawsuit without a retainer of at least $10,000. No one in Bell had that type of money lying around. Some residents had reached out to major news media outlets, including the Los Angeles Times, but no one ever wanted to follow up on the lead.
Copyright
The author
Included in
Building BASTA
Before the scandal broke there were plenty of Bell residents that felt something was really wrong with city government. The residents of Bell had no real proof. Getting information was nearly impossible, but there were signs that something was wrong. For example, how does a councilmember from a working class community, where the median income was $30,000 a year, afford to drive around in a $100,000 Mercedes Benz -- when his main source of income was a small corner market? Or, why did property taxes continue to increase, but services continued to decline? And, why did so many Latino teenagers get pulled over and have their cars impounded for the slightest infractions, such as expired tags or a broken tail light, and then had to pay nearly $1,000 in fines and impound fees to get their cars back?
Several community members had tried to find out councilmembers’ and top administrators’ salaries, and had also asked questions about how bond money was being spent, but had failed to get any answers. Every request for public records was rejected by the city attorney. To get that information they would have to sue the city using the Public Records Act. Some residents knew that if they sued, they would likely win, but no attorneys would help file the lawsuit without a retainer of at least $10,000. No one in Bell had that type of money lying around. Some residents had reached out to major news media outlets, including the Los Angeles Times, but no one ever wanted to follow up on the lead.