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Remember the recent outcry in Bell, California, after the city’s residents learned how the mayor and council were abusing their authority and lining their own pockets with taxpayers’ money?    According to an article in today’s Los Angeles Times, the citizens of Bell now understand that they can retake control of their city government.   Sadly, many of the desirable attributes in Bell, in Los Angeles County, and the State of California are lacking in Coeur d’Alene, in Kootenai County, and the State of Idaho.

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“If I was a drug dealer and I didn’t want to be interfered with, I’d move to a city where I could exploit dysfunctional city governments, corrupt the police or be left alone in a neighborhood where people are not as active in monitoring their communities. That’s where I’d want my dope house.”

Those were the words of Los Angeles County Prosecuting Attorney Steve Cooley, a candidate for election as California’s Attorney General.   This comment and others appeared on August 13, 2010 in The Washington Times article headlined L.A. area is prime ground for gangs.  Cooley’s interview was a warning to all communities to not ignore the conditions that enable criminal gangs to thrive.  Take heed, Coeur d’Alene.

The scandal that has erupted in the Los Angeles suburb of Bell, California, (population 38,000) is an example of how predatory, self-serving city officials will loot a city treasury if the townspeople trust them too much and don’t pay attention to what the folks at city hall are doing.

On Thursday night, the city’s Chief Administrative Officer (salary $800K), Police Chief (salary $457K), and Assistant City Manager (salary $376K) resigned after a contentious public meeting in front of irate townspeople.  Not surprisingly, the Mayor and City Council initially defended approving the outrageously high salaries, to which the townspeople responded, “Recall them, too!”  (more…)