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WHEREAS, the city of Bell has a Native American history dating back thousands of years with the
<br />Gabrieliiio Indians migrating to what is now known as the City of Bell in 500 B.C., and
<br />WHEREAS, in the early 1800's, Spanish aristocrat and former soldier, Don Antonio Maria Lugo
<br />settled on 30,000 acres of land that encompasses the City of Bell, and
<br />WHEREAS, between 1870 and 1890 settlers arrived to the area and among those was the city's
<br />founder, James George Bell who acquired approximately 360 acres of land and helped in its development as
<br />a small farming and cattle community, and
<br />WHEREAS, the City of Bell was incorporated on November 7, 1927 and is now home to many
<br />businesses, small industries, schools, churches and community organizations, and
<br />WHEREAS, in July 2010, the City of Bell was devastated with a municipal scandal that made
<br />national and international headlines, and
<br />WHEREAS, it was revealed during the corruption scandal that Bell city officials were receiving
<br />unusually large salaries, perhaps the highest in the nation, and
<br />WHEREAS, upon the removal of the previous administration, including the City Administrator and
<br />City Attorney, the City of Bell began taking steps to immediately address this unprecedented scandal, and
<br />WHEREAS, under the new leadership of Pedro Carrillo, Interim City Administrator for the City of
<br />Bell, and James M. Casso, Interim City Attorney, the City of Bell has taken action to restore trust, ethics and
<br />fiscal sustainability in the City of Bell, and
<br />WHEREAS, the City of Bell helped craft legislation (AB 900) authorizing the refunding of the
<br />illegally charged taxes to Bell property owners, which the state legislators quickly and unanimously adopted
<br />so that refund checks could be issued to constituents, and
<br />WHEREAS, in March 2011, voters turned out in record numbers to recall and replace City Council
<br />members charged in the corruption scandal, and
<br />WHEREAS, the City of Bell continues to consider all options for recovering all taxpayer funds that
<br />were spent improperly, and has implemented best practices that will enable the City of Bell to emerge from
<br />this unprecedented situation with an efficient, transparent and trusted government; now, therefore, be it
<br />RESOLVED, by the General Assembly of the League of California Cities, assembled during the
<br />Annual Conference in San Francisco, September 23, 2011, that the League acknowledges the efforts of the
<br />City of Bell to address municipal corruption and restore policies and actions that create an environment of a
<br />responsible government.
<br />Back6round Information on Resolution No. 6
<br />Source: City of Los Angeles
<br />In July 2010, the City of Bell was devastated with a municipal scandal that made national and international
<br />headlines. At that time, the Los Angeles Times reported that the City of Bell had the second - highest property
<br />tax rate in the county — 1.55 percent — well above the county average of 1.16 percent with Bell city
<br />officials receiving unusually large salaries. It was reported that City Manager Robert Rizzo was being paid
<br />an annual salary of $787,637; Police Chief Randy Adams was receiving $457,000; and Assistant City
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