The scandal-plagued city of Bell agreed to appoint a monitor to oversee its operations and finances.
The move by city officials delays a civil lawsuit filed by the California attorney general’s office, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Bell’s interim city attorney told the newspaper the city could not afford the legal costs of fighting the state lawsuit. He said the city will soon have an election and the new council can decide how it wants to defend itself.
Last week, the state attorney general and Los Angeles County district attorney’s office filed a joint motion to delay the lawsuit against Bell because the city had agreed to appoint a monitor.
Bell exploded into the spotlight this summer with press revelations that it was paying its city manager at the time, Robert Rizzo, about $800,000 a year.
The fallout since then has included civil and criminal charges against Rizzo and other city officials of misappropriating more than $5.5 million, and reports of a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into the city’s municipal bond disclosure.
