Molina Asks Bell Financial Review

 

 

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                 CONTACT:  Roxane Marquez at (213) 974-4111 (office) or (213) 598-5463 (cellular)

 

GLORIA MOLINA MANDATES BELL FINANCIAL REVIEW

 

L.A. County Auditors to Report on City’s Financial State in 30 Days

 

LOS ANGELES (October 19, 2010)—Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Chair Gloria Molina announced today that the county will conduct a comprehensive review of the City of Bell’s financial condition—an review that will be conducted and paid for by the county.

“Bell residents know their civic house is in disarray, but they don’t know the true facts and figures,” Molina said.  “Frankly, Bell residents need to know if their city is solvent.  There is no way order can be restored in Bell until residents there have an accurate picture of the city’s finances.  This is a basic right and expectation of all Bell residents.  And no matter who runs the city—an independent monitor, a receiver, current city management, or some combination—everybody, including Bell residents, needs to be on the same page.  This just can’t wait.”

At today’s meeting of the Board of Supervisors, Molina and her colleagues unanimously directed the county’s Auditor-Controller (in conjunction with the county’s Chief Executive Officer) to review Bell’s financial books and to take a full accounting of the city’s current cash position, outstanding debts (including authorized and issued bonds), current city contracts, income and revenue, core service costs, and any other miscellaneous municipal costs.  The auditors will report back to the board in 30 days with the results—including whether Bell has the financial resources to continue providing core city services.

Though the financial review received approval by the full Board of Supervisors and has been welcomed by Bell’s city management, its $100,000 cost will be paid for by First District Discretionary Funds—which Sup. Molina directly oversees.

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