(From the sacbee.com) City administrators from around the state scrambled Thursday to get ahead of the unfolding salary scandal in the Los Angeles suburb of Bell. The League of California Cities took the unusual step of lambasting one of its own and said it would explore state legislation requiring that the salaries of the highest-paid employees in state and local government be made easily available to the public.
Representatives of the League met in downtown Sacramento to discuss crafting the salary legislation, as well as setting statewide guidelines for public executive pay that would be based on experience and the size of jurisdictions. Ultimately, salaries for top administrators are decided by city councils and other elected boards.
The Los Angeles Times has reported that the Bell city manager was paid nearly $800,000, making him the highest-paid government manager in the nation. The police chief earned more than $450,000 and an assistant city manager made $376,288. All three have resigned, and both the Los Angeles district attorney and the state attorney general’s office are investigating.
Read more here: Bell scandal has cities scrambling to ease anger over salaries