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California town to lay off all city employees, disband police

By Muriel Kane
Wednesday, June 23, 2010 11:46 EST
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Economic hard times are causing many municipalities to look for ways to reduce their payrolls, but none has taken it as far as the town of Maywood, California.

On Monday night, the Maywood City Council voted unanimously to fire all 100 city employees and contract out most services, including record-keeping, street maintenance, and parks and recreation, to the neighboring town of Bell.

“We will become 100% a contracted city,” Maywood’s interim city manager stated.

Even the Maywood police department will be disbanded. Those services will be provided by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, since a proposal earlier this month to merge Mayfield’s police department with that of Bell was met with angry protests by Bell residents.

It was the police department that largely got Maywood into its current financial troubles. Last month, the town was informed by the California Joint Powers Insurance Authority that it would no longer be able to obtain liability insurance, largely as a result of excessive claims filed against the police.

According to the Los Angeles Times, “The [Insurance Authority's] action is yet another blow for the predominantly Latino city of 45,000 residents densely packed into about 1.2 square miles in the heavily industrial southeast part of Los Angeles County. Officials estimate about half the city’s residents are illegal immigrants.”

“Four years ago, the department faced a political outcry when it began running checkpoints that resulted in hundreds of cars being taken away from unlicensed illegal immigrants,” the Times explains. “The checkpoint sparked a political movement that brought a new council that was more sympathetic to illegal immigrants. But Maywood was back in the headlines when it declared itself a sanctuary city for illegal immigrants, making the town a target of conservative talk radio and TV news shows.”

Last year, California Attorney General Jerry Brown announced that he would seek a court order to impose reforms on the Maywood Police Department, after a sixteen-month investigation had revealed “gross misconduct and widespread abuse.” There have already been two police shootings since the start of 2010 that drew investigations by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

The Los Angeles Times reports that town residents blame the current problems on “years of financial abuse and corruption” by the city council. Ironically, however, the city manager, attorney, and council members are the only Maywood employees who will remain on the payroll.

“You guys had the power to change it and you didn’t,” City Treasurer Lizeth Sandoval told the council at Monday’s meeting. “You single-handedly destroyed the city.”

Muriel Kane
Muriel Kane
Muriel Kane is an associate editor at Raw Story. She joined Raw Story as a researcher in 2005, with a particular focus on the Jack Abramoff affair and other Bush administration scandals. She worked extensively with former investigative news managing editor Larisa Alexandrovna, with whom she has co-written numerous articles in addition to her own work. Prior to her association with Raw Story, she spent many years as an independent researcher and writer with a particular focus on history, literature, and contemporary social and political attitudes. Follow her on Twitter at @Muriel_Kane
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  • taisamarie

    This isn't the first town in California to do something similar. Salida, CA disbanded it's police force MONTHS ago.

  • Wtf

    why didn't they fire themselves? they should have contracted their jobs out as well. i bet they voted themselves a raise while they were at it

  • Bill

    Excellent! I hope my town does this soon! All the leeches will slither away!

  • icenine

    Sounds like a Libertarian dream town. Can't wait till the crooks get wind of this opportunity.

  • RantingTommy

    end the failed, counterproductive war on drugs and you don't need so many police

  • johnniefavorite

    This is awesome!
    We used to play shows sometimes for these biker dudes out in the middle of nowhere, in these rural areas in Ohio, West Virginia and some other places I'm not certain what state they were in. There were never any cops, it would be just too far out. We could play as long as everyone wanted and, tell ya the truth, I never remember any trouble. You know, it was a great feeling to know you could just have fun and were not going to be hassled by a bunch of dickheads who just liked to fuck with people. Ha, yeah I guess that's why I live in Los Angeles.

  • WAKE UP CALL

    You're a fucking idiot.

  • Harlowe Thrombey

    Why doesn't Maywood open the largest, most spectacular, city-owned Pot Dispensary in the world?

    They'd then have their city back.

  • Harlowe Thrombey

    Why doesn't Maywood open the largest, most spectacular, city-owned Pot Dispensary in the world?

    They'd then have their city back.

  • johnniefavorite

    Maybe, but you must be some fucking needle-dicked, white boy cop…..
    Hahaa! just kiddin'. Hey, thanks for the compliment!

  • Bradwhg

    Maywood is almost 100 % illegal aliens. As Maywood goes so does California and then the rest of the sanctuary parts of the country. Good by rule of law and welcome the lawless policies of Mexico.

  • Bradwhg

    Crooks already there. Maywood has the reputation of being one of the poorest run and corrupt cities in Ca.

  • Fuckyou

    My favorite part of your post is your current census facts you use to support your statements.

  • hipshotpercusion

    Wet Back go home!

  • hipshot

    Wet Back Go home and fix your toilet bowl of a country!

  • Pinroot

    Well, like Jefferson said, a government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take away everything you have. This is just the beginning of government taking things away, it will only get worse. But, on the bright side, maybe people will learn to take care of themselves and each other rather than relying on government to do it for them.

  • teslacan

    With a city council like this, who needs mobsters?

  • WAKE UP CALL

    Not a fan of cops or the current organization of things at all but to be a hipster shithead who “to tell ya the truth, couldn't remember any trouble” while you were playing your stupid music on your poverty adventure is almost self-evidently ridiculous.

    Stop fetishizing poverty and lack of basic services you spoiled idiot, nothing about this is “awesome” and if you weren't such a stereotype of a self-obsessed hipster musician you would realize how stupid those words you typed out were.

  • BuckJohnson

    A corrupt small burb on the outskirts of LA, nothing unusual about this in other states around the country.

  • Bad Bart

    And relying on illegal immigrants to foot the bills they create but don't pay.

  • Bad Bart

    How close is it to the border? Profit could be impacted by transportation costs.

  • Savantster

    No, they will break into your home and take your shit knowing there are no cops to do anything about it.

  • Savantster

    Biker dudes.. the kind of guys sane people avoid if they don't want to get raped or beaten to death as entertainment.

    You likely saw no trouble because it was “just them”.. bring in some non-dirt bags and it would have been “no trouble” for the bikers, but the others wouldn't be so lucky. Sounds like reverse entitlement stuff to me. Just like the rich guys don't tend to screw over each other.. Though, if a rival gang showed up to listen to your music, there would have been blood spilled.. and maybe yours.

  • Savantster

    “maybe people will learn to take care of themselves and each other rather than relying on government to do it for them. “

    government is the collective will of the public. The problem today is that our government has been hijacked by the few to use as a tool for their will, and the public is too stupid to do anything about it. They let the people in power keep dictating to them instead of the public doing their own research. For Democracy to work, you must have an educated and enlightened public.. we don't have that in America.

  • reyrey

    Man, I would love to live in beautiful San Diego but California is so upside down with the cost of living there, you have to own a few oil wells to afford it.

    To say nothing, about their budget problems. I really feel for Californians, they don't get a break.

  • Mmuriello

    I wonder what the chief of police is going to do since he goes to work just to cheat on his wife with his office aid.

  • reyrey

    Ain't that the truth! Police could actually go and spend time on serious time.

    Prostitution too. When are they ever going to learn, a post never wore out a hole?

  • justadood

    Only figures this happens in Conservative Southern California….where one can find officials who think government should be run like a business…. it ain't, and one could teach a masters class in economics and government/civics explaining why running government like a business doesn't work….

  • icenine

    LOL. Oh, an inside job. I get it. Wink wink, nudge nudge, say no more, say no more.

  • George B

    When people take care of each other in any sizable way it is through organizing themselves into a governing body. Corrupt government and inefficient government will always be a possibility for those who lack vigilance, but no government at all is not really a workable possibility.

  • US Citizen

    Precisely. And don't forget the “Latino” culture imported by illegal immigrants and reproduced in Maywood, i.e., devaluing formal education, a racialist or racist (La Raza) mentality that refuses to assimilate, and viewing democratic process as means to obtain to power instead of viewing democracy as an end in itself.

  • undrgrndgirl

    i'm sure there are some good maywood citizens who could provide a good grow operation…no import/export or transportation needed…

  • undrgrndgirl

    as if the cops show up to do anything about anything…they mostly just show up to gawk and pick up the pieces…

  • alfredo

    Well said!

  • Elsacorral

    Thank goodness I'm not in Maywood, I'm in the bay area but can't imagine cops stopping, but DA holding his job. Hmmm, what could possibly happen go wrong there?

  • alfredo

    Except it wasn't Jefferson that said that. It was your darling Reagan. Somebody wrote it down for him on a 3×5 card and he just read it off.
    If you don't like government just go to Somalia and check it out.

    Capitalism is the extraordinary belief that the nastiest of men, for the nastiest of reasons, will somehow work for the benefit of us all.
    - John Maynard Keynes

  • DriveBy

    Democrats, Republicans..it's always same thing: There's always plenty of money for wars (and tax cuts for the rich(R)) but there's never enough money for citizen services.

  • greylox

    **Pssst. We're lying to you. It doesn't cost all that much to live here. We just don't want you here, so we're trying to scare you off.

  • http://twitter.com/shivabeach Shiva

    50% illegal aliens? Uh huh

  • Anonymous

    Maywood is south central LA not in the burbs that would be whittier riverside & orange county that are burbs of LA but you are correct this shit gos on all the time

  • BrainRagYell

    Actually, you're both wrong:

    1) Gerald Ford (14 July 1913 – 26 December 2006) , the 38th President of the United States.
    “A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have.
    Presidential address to a joint session of Congress (12 August 1974)
    Ford has also been quoted as having made a similar statement many years earlier, as a representative to the US Congress: “If the government is big enough to give you everything you want, it is big enough to take away everything you have.”
    “If Elected, I Promise…” : Stories and Gems of Wisdom by and About Politicians (1960) p. 193″
    Source:
    http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Gerald_Ford

    Read more: Who wrote, “A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have.”? | Answerbag http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/626591#ixzz0rlH…

  • wiseturtle

    Agreed. Reagan and repubs are the main reasons this country is screwed now!

  • panamarick

    Recall Grey Davis with a California budget deficit of $8 billions and put in a republican who grows the budget deficit to $19.1 billion…”Uh huh”

  • Bradwhg

    Do you live in Maywood? Have you been to Maywood? Have you read or researched anything about Maywood before this news bit? Obviously not, because you know nothing of the area, it's demographics or corruption.The 100% figure was not to be taken as absolute fact, it was prefaced by almost. For the snivel ass fact checkers, I suppose I should have posted ” almost 100% illegal aliens, their supporters and apologists.” Which group do you fit into?

    If you actually care to learn about the problems of this city do a bit of research or better yet visit.

  • http://www.facebook.com/nphyx Justen â’¶ Robertson

    One could teach an introductory class in economics explaining why running a government doesn't work, full stop.

  • mrtinez666

    Shhh!

  • Treg4RonPaul

    Decentralization and small government is suddenly the “Cure” for bad big spending big government…. ..

    So finally, libertarianism gets a chance to prove itself?

    Full on Privatization… Lets hope it works!

  • mrtinez666

    Orange County is not a burb of LA. I'm originally from O.C.. It might be considered part of the 'greater Los Angeles area' but it is it's own county with a fully running (probably corrupted) government infrastructure. Same for Riverside.

  • DownriverDem

    Why would you want to live there?

  • johnniefavorite

    Ahahahaaa that is hysterical. How do you know so much about me? You should get a gig with the un-psychic hotline.
    Trust me, I am the antithesis of everything you just said. A hipster….ahahahaaaa that is hysterical. And I always make pretty good money giggng otherwise I don't play. It's what I do.
    Ok I'm pretty cool guy but enough about me, all this attention is embarassing.

  • johnniefavorite

    Actually, I have played numerous bike rallys and festivals (it is not the only stuff I do, I am a hired hand). With due respect, in my experience much of what to which you refer is mythology ramped by a media looking for sensationalism and viewers. I have been at rallys with many different organizations present and although I am aware there are certain inter-group conflicts, 90% (even more) of these guy and gals are adults who just want to have fun and not be hassled (this is a course a number I have arrived at through no science; it's anecdotal and experiential.).
    Plus I have seen, others with no affiliations, or who are just weekend 'yuppie riders' have always been welcome if they don't get stupid. Hey look I am, for sure, no ambassador of any club here, I am only speaking from my experience and perhap also from my basic anarchist tendencies.
    To go on would be couterproductive and probably a little too far off topic. I realize I am only providing a view through a straw here which can be easily ridiculed. Perhaps one day there will be more of an appropriate opportunity to describe what I know about this more fully, this is certainly not the forum.

  • SilverRayn5

    @ Savantster: We live in a Republic. Not a democracy.

    Democracy = mob rule.
    Republic = Rule of Law (Constitution).

    You are right about the voters needing to be more educated though. They need to know their Constitutional rights (not just their wants and wishes) and what legislation is being passed by their elected officials. It's a good place to start with that education you speak of! :-)

  • markusgarvey

    In an effort to serve the online community best, please verify your account so that your comments will post as soon as they are posted in the future. Thanks

  • SilverRayn5

    @ Savantster: We live in a Republic. Not a democracy. Democracy = mob rule. Republic = Rule of Law (Constitution). It's a good place to start with that education. :-)

  • dannoel

    Privatize a city government? Good idea. Let us bet that the LA sheriff's department will be more efficient and less abusive than the former police, even though it hardly has a reputation for

    However, the private contractors will do only as good a job as the elected officials or their competitors prod them to do. Police corruption was likely tolerated–if not worse–at the highest levers of the city government. So unless the whole public service system is given to a private corporation, improvements may not be forthcoming.

    Anyway, if a financial crisis is the only way for senior public servants to start understanding that they exist to serve the public and not to wait for their cushy retirements, let's ask for more crises!

    Love,

  • markusgarvey

    In an effort to serve the online community best, please verify your account so that your comments will post as soon as they are posted in the future. Thanks

  • http://militantlibertarian.org/2010/06/24/california-town-to-lay-off-all-city-employees-disband-police/ Militant Libertarian » California town to lay off all city employees, disband police

    [...] by Muriel Kane, Raw Story [...]

  • dannoel

    “so that comments are posted as soon as they are posted?” This reads like a tautology.

    If I remember well, I was notified as I posted that my comment would go through moderation. What would be the problem?

  • markusgarvey

    if you don't verify your disqus account, you are more than likely going to have your comment approved before it will post…sometimes…but if you verify it ,the only time you will have to be approved is if you use any of the “forbidden” words…very scary words!..I'm sure you don't use them…

  • lelandshane

    Yea well what ever im from Downey
    and maywood is 5 miles from down town LA
    and  i went to Cal State University and its sister school Cyprus
    I Think i know were all the Housing Track Homes are witch are Suburbs of a LA
    Maybe you should Google map before Blogging

    Leland Shane

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Karol-Singleton/685486426 Karol Singleton

    I like your approach.. on the subject it is true, unless U live there U have no idea.
    But, that aside.. we are talking media report .. so take it w/ a grain of salt. Truth?
    Well, if they did away w/ all paid employee's.. I'd say they have a problem, and it started with those that were kept to run the city!
    Anyone w/ common sense knows…those who do the budget, write the checks .. and pass the “laws” are the one's at fault.
    Silly people voted everyone out but themselves! lol
    Although it does kinda resemble the US Government .. Congress gets a raise.. up's its own medical and retirement.. and then makes sure the people that elected them.. gets nothing !
    Yep.. might work Maywood! lol
    Now my guess, some one w/ 1/2 smarts will come in and fix it by being elected and throwing the dumbo's out that stayed in office to get the free meal tickets!

  • http://www.winstonite.com/?p=470 Welcome to the new America | The Winstonite
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    Everyone is so concerned about their rights and no one gives a sh*t about their duties. Take, take, take, and no giving back.

  • johnsid

    Everyone is so concerned about their rights, and they don't give a sh*t about their duties.

  • johnsid

    Spelling, capitalization, punctuation. You went to school?

  • ramblin

    Not meaning to be blasphemous, but even Almighty God would shake HIS head before HE solved YOUR PROBLEM.

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