Scandal-Ridden Bell, Calif., Forced to Refund Taxes

(Sept. 13) -- The state is forcing the tiny city of Bell, Calif., a two-square-mile urban stretch south of downtown Los Angeles, to give back to residents some $3 million in overpaid property taxes that were forked over at a time when city managers were pulling down salaries in the high six figures.

Lt. Gov. Abel Maldonado traveled to Bell to sign a law hastily passed two weeks ago by the state legislature ordering the city to make the funds available to Los Angeles County officials, who are set to return it to the owners of 4,000 properties. Maldonado was pinch-hitting for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was traveling in Asia.

Residents of the City of Bell who are calling for the ouster of city officials line up to enter the community center for a council meeting on July 26, 2010 in Bell, California.

Kevork Djansezian, Getty Images

Residents of Bell, Calif., line up to enter the community center for a council meeting on July 26.

Bell's population of 37,000, more than 90 percent Hispanic, has a median household income of just $29,946, according to the latest Census records. Yet the city has had the second-highest property tax levels in the country, far above the rate in Beverly Hills, with a median income more than twice that, or Malibu, whose residents earn an average of more than three times what families earn in Bell.

Until recently, the Bell city manager was earning $787,637 per year, while his assistant manager took in $376,288 annually and the city policy chief -- overseeing a staff of less than 50 -- earned $457,000.

For the now former city manager, Robert Rizzo, that was more than twice what the Los Angeles County chief executive makes, and ex-Police Chief Randy Adams was earning more than double the salary of the New York police commissioner, according to the Los Angeles Times, which first brought their incomes to light.

All three officials have resigned amid an investigation of the Bell city compensation practices, which had also included nearly $100,000 a year for part-time members of the city council.

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The law passed by the State Assembly and Senate at the end of August affects property taxes for the 2007-08, 2008-09 and 2009-10 fiscal years, directing the return to Bell taxpayers of funds in excess of the maximum property taxes allowed under state law. Normally, such excesses are transferred to local school districts.

The Times has also reported that federal officials are investigating alleged voter fraud in Bell, and the town's alleged practice of targeting young Hispanic men for traffic violations with the aim of collecting high towing charges for drivers who turn out to be illegally in the country. According to the census, more than 53 percent of people living in Bell were born outside the United States.