Calif. officials could put end to high-paid city

[The Northerner]

VERNON, Calif. – Fewer than 100 residents live in this small burg in the shadow of Los Angeles, surrounded by miles of gritty, occasionally smelly warehouses, meatpacking plants and manufacturing businesses. It is one of the least populated, most nondescript municipalities in the country — and one of the richest.

With 1,800 businesses providing an annual tax base of $334 million to a town with no parks, one school and only one residential street to maintain, there is plenty of money to go around.

There is so much, in fact, that Vernon's former city manager was paid $785,000 last year. The guy he replaced earned $1.65 million the year before and another city manager, who retired in 2005, pulls down an annual pension of $500,000.

But the money pot could be the 105-year-old city's undoing. Since it came to light earlier this year, state officials have moved to take away Vernon's status as a city, boot its elected officials out of their handsome City Hall offices and turn government operations over to Los Angeles County.

Although it was the high salaries, first reported by the Los Angeles Times, that got people's attention, proponents of putting Vernon under the county's control say the real issue is accountability — and their belief that in Vernon there is none.

"We cannot tolerate a situation where a handful of individuals are able to use an entire city as their own personal fiefdom with no impunity," said state Assembly Speaker John Perez, who introduced a bill earlier this month that would allow disincorporation of any city with fewer than 150 residents.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101225/ap_on_re_us/us_imperiled_city_2

[FLAprogressive]

1. why is it fair for the state to be able to dissolve ANY city with fewer than 150 residents??

Shouldn't it be up to the residents?

[Hassin Bin Sober]

2. LOL..."own personal fiefdom"

Maybe they can do Chicago next.