Bell officials defended huge raises to CalPERS

Bell officials defended huge raises to CalPERS: "Bell officials defended enormous salary increases to California's public pension agency as rewards for good work, and the agency decided not to challenge the hikes, according to newly revealed documents.

The California Public Employees' Retirement System learned through a routine audit in 2006 that Bell City Manager Robert Rizzo had received a 47 percent salary increase in one year and was earning up to $442,000, according to documents CalPERS released Thursday.

CalPERS also knew that the assistant city manager, Angela Spaccia, got a 42 percent pay hike and City Council members had received 38 percent raises.

CalPERS is supposed to challenge pay hikes that can lead to excessively large pensions, but it approved the raises after it received a letter from Bell's assistant city manager defending them.

Spaccia wrote that Rizzo's pay raise reflected his contributions to the small Los Angeles suburb, including resolving a multimillion-dollar deficit. She said her pay raise related to a promotion, and wrote that the City Council members 'were compensated accordingly for their contributions and efforts toward the city's dramatic financial recovery.'

A week later, CalPERS staff concluded that the city had provided sufficient documentation to authorize 'a one-time compensation adjustment' for the officials.