A push for receivership in Bell

As city leaders in Bell were being arrested Tuesday, Los Angeles County Supervisors voted to ask state Attorney General Jerry Brown to consider a range of legal actions, including moving to place the scandal-plagued city under an independent receivership.

Supervisors voted 4-0 in favor of the motion by board chair Gloria Molina. Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich was not present.

“I think we have a duty here to start sorting out what is our role and responsibility to these constituents,” Molina said before the vote. “They’re my constituents as well as this entire board’s constituency, and we’re trying to figure out how to bring order.”

The motion urged Brown to “use every legal measure at his disposal” to prevent further harm to the residents of Bell, where exorbitant salaries for public officials have prompted a public uproar, along with a series of state and local investigations into corruption and improper taxation.

Brown, who is running for governor against Meg Whitman, recently sued Bell officials for fraud and misuse of public funds.

In addition to suggesting the appointment of an independent receiver to operate the city and audit its contracts and accounts, Molina’s motion also directed the city of Bell to provide the county with $2.9 million in wrongfully-imposed taxes, so that taxpayers could be reimbursed.

Bell resident Nestor Valencia, a local activist, was among those urging supervisors to take action on Tuesday.

“Our government has let us down in the city of Bell,” he said, “and it has done so for many years.”

Residents of the city cheered as news of the arrests of current and former leaders broke, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Posted 9/21/10