Bell cancels contract to manage Maywood

City leaders in Bell agreed Friday to cancel a contract to handle the day-to-day operations of neighboring Maywood, putting the small, working-class city at risk of being forced to shut down.

Maywood, which has 30,000 residents, took the unusual step earlier this summer to disband its police force, terminate most city workers and pay Bell $50,833 a month to take over operation of the city.

Once the Bell workforce leaves Maywood, the city would have only two full-time employees and a part-time elected City Council.

“The decision that the city of Bell has taken will have a crippling affect on the city of Maywood’s ability to provide services to residents,” said Maywood’s interim city manager, Lilian Meyers. “At this point, our option is to close the doors or bring in independent contractors very quickly to provide minimal services.”

Maywood city leaders said they learned of Bell’s decision when The Times sought comment about the decision. The Bell City Council voted Friday to give Maywood a 30-day termination notice.

“I know of cities up north of going on the verge of bankruptcy, but it’s a whole different situation that Maywood is going through,” said Ken Pulskamp, president of the League of California Cities City Managers’ Department.

In late June, Maywood made national headlines when it fired most of its workers and turned over operations to its neighbor city. The city also dismantled its 86-year-old Police Department and began contracting for law enforcement services with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

Currently there are about 45 full-time and part-time Bell employees handling the city’s municipal services.

Interim City Manager Pedro Carrillo said the decision to end the contract with Maywood was due in part to the financial disarray in Bell, which imploded in a scandal over the enormous salaries paid to top administrators and is now being investigated for its high salaries, possible election fraud and improper business dealing by both the Los Angeles County district attorney and California attorney general.

“Clearly today’s decision by the City Council will make it difficult for our neighbors to deal with their own problems,” Carrillo said. He said Bell will continue to reach out to the city in other ways, but must focus on its problems.

ruben.vives@latimes.com