Matthews says local government needs the ability to raise taxes and revenues, which motivate citizens to pay attention to how their local government operates. “So to truly reform local governance, Californians must first recognize a paradox: Preventing local officials from behaving like those in Bell requires giving more discretion and freedom to local officials.” For the full piece, please see
“We need to learn the right lessons from Bell to prevent corruption,” The Sacramento Bee, March 18, 2015.