What can we learn from Bell?
Fred Smoller, Ph.D.
Director, Masters of Public Administration
Brandman University, Irvine, CA
To understand what went wrong in Bell, California it is important to recall the three principal groups that animate our political system—elected officials, the press, and citizens. Democracy requires that each group perform specific responsibilities. Public officials must respond to queries from citizens and the press in a timely and forthright manner. The press must provide citizens information they can use to make informed assessments of public officials and their policies. Finally, it is the job of the public to pay attention to public affairs and to turn out and vote. In Bell, all three groups were not performing their respective roles.
Citizens and reporters should be able to ask a direct question of local government officials and get a direct answer. For example, exactly how much does the city manager make? The Los Angeles Times reporters had to threaten legal action against Bell to get this information. Similarly, it took two Brandman University graduate students in the Masters in Public Administration Program nearly four months and hundreds of hours to find out how much city managers in Orange County were compensated. While several cities cooperated, many others gave the students the run around. Two charged for access to this information. Two others said that the public was not entitled to know the details of city official compensation packages. Moreover, total compensation is nearly impossible to decipher because city manager base salaries do not include extras such as free cars, forgivable housing loans, deferred compensation, or the fact that city managers may hold more than one paid position. There was also no consistent reporting format, which made comparisons difficult to make.
Much of the debate regarding the press has to do with its alleged liberal bias. Instead of a political bias, the media have a “level of government” bias: attention is lavished on federal institutions, especially the presidency, whereas state and local government are largely ignored. That is why most of us know where Michelle Obama gets her clothes (J-Crew), but little about state and local government. (Pop Quiz: how many members of the Orange County Board of Supervisors can you name?) Why is there no full time television bureau from Los Angeles–the media capital of the world– covering the governor and legislature of the nation’s most important state? Why was the press asleep at the wheel for so many years in Bell while the city manager and council were ripping off its working class residents? Why did our local press fail to warn us about Bob Citron, Mike Corona, and Steve Rocco? Why did they fail to tell us until recently about the lavish perks that some city managers have received while teachers and other low wage public workers were being let go, and social welfare programs for the sick and elderly, are being cut? Voters make up the most important group. A voter approved measure made the abuses in Bell possible. The problem is that only 400 of Bells 37, 000 residents voted in the election. Because no one was watching, the Bell elected figured they could get away with paying their city manager nearly $800,000, the assistant city manager $376,000, $457,000 for the police chief, and themselves $100,000 for minimal work—at a time when our state is broke. Citizens must be a check on such outrageous abuses of power.
Each group needs to learn from Bell if future appalling abuses are to be avoided. Legislation is needed to ensure transparency in local government. Total city employee compensation needs to be posted on city web pages, in a manner that the average person can understand. The press needs to take a hard look at itself and get back to coverage that informs, rather than entertains. That won’t be possible until citizens understand the critical role they are expected to play in our political system and as a result demand such coverage from media outlets. To this end, civics courses, which have been dropped from K-12 curricula, need to be reintroduced, with a focus on local government. Finally, the barriers to informed participation in local politics need to be reduced, by the adoption of vote by mail, which has proven successful in Oregon and Washington and many other political jurisdictions.
Local government is the most trusted level of government in American politics. Nevertheless, the lesson from Bell and similar abuses that have come to light in our County is the need for eternal vigilance by us all.
Fred Smoller, Ph.D.
Director, Masters in Public Administration
and the Center for Sustainable Living
Brandman University
16355 Laguana Canyon Road
Irvine, CA 92618
smoller@chapman.edu
Well put by Smoller. I would quarrel with his blaming the media for lack of local coverage, etc as a causative factor. Generally, the media is not to be trusted either. Bottom line is the citizenry needs to make their local government as big a priority in their lives as watching Dancing with the Starts, The Bachelor, etc. As Pogo so eloquently stated long ago, we have met the enemy and it is us. Starting with failure to vote in elections, treating electeds like rock stars, etc. The electeds often succumb to that adoration and the tendency to want to be liked by everyone. In some cases, electeds cross the line in part due to that adoration and commit crimes, thinking they are special because everyone treats them that way. Treat them like what they are, our elected representatives, and supervise their actions like you would any other employee! Yes, eternal vigilance.
BAW. FYI. Janet Nguyen won her 1st District BOS seat by nine votes.
As an observer in that recount I did see some of the rejected paper ballots.
At the following BOS meeting I chastized the 150,000 voters who were too busy to participate in that election. My point is that Bell is not the only city in CA where voter apathy exists.
Yes, Larry. It seems to be a universal condition, unfortunately.
Since this story broke, I’ve been asking myself this one question…
apparently an $800,000 yearly salary is way too high, why isn’t a $300,000 salary for the same job NOT considered high?
With all the double dipping going on in the municipal level plus all the expense accounts enjoyed by public officials on top of the 90%+ pension programs, I find it all very disturbing and economically devastating for the whole nation for the next 20 to 30 years to come…
CQT 96. $300,000 for that job is too high.
Some of my files contain data that may be as old as some of our readers.
In Dec. 1994 the local OC Register published my council comments addressing this very question. This was at the time of the pending O.C. bankruptcy where the county might be losing $1.5 billion.
Quoting from that letter (which I found today):
“Let me share some facts with my fellow MV residents and taxpayers. I just contacted the governor’s office in Sacramento for some data.
Governor Wilson ‘s base salary is $120,000. He took a 5 percent pay cut this year and therefore, was paid only $114,000. He is responsible for 165,000 to 170,000 full time personnel. The governor’s fund budget for 1993-94 was $39.8 billion. By comparison, City Manager Fred Sorsabal’s base salary is $115,886. Fred is responsible for 77 full time employees and his city of Mission Viejo budget is approximately $33 million.
With the governor making less than our city manager, and with his overwhelmingly larger scope of responsibility, can anyone in his right mind justify this ridiculous proposal..
Get involved. Attend City Council meetings and go on record that you demand that our elected officials practice fiscal responsibility and a conservative philosophy consistent with their campaign rhetoric.”
Immediately below my letter to the editor is an Editors note: “Fred Sorsabal’s proposed raise(d) has been shelved indefinitely.”
This proves that old expression that “one person can make a difference.”