Saturday, March 25, 2000
Residency proposal reviewed
Range of rules may get look
BY EARNEST WINSTON
The Cincinnati Enquirer
HAMILTON — As city council considers an ordinance requiring city employees to live in Hamilton, officials may look at how other Tristate communities handle the issue.
Councilman Richard Holzberger said the ordinance is needed because of a perception among some city employees that city manager Steve Sorrell unevenly implements the residency policy. The city manager said he considers financial hardship, family, property ownership and children established in schools when making his decisions.
Since January 1999, Mr. Sorrell said he has granted a handful of exceptions to the policy. An administrative directive from the 1960s gives him the authority to establish residency requirements.
Vice Mayor Thomas E. Nye said he's not sure an ordinance is needed because he thinks Mr. Sorrell has tried to enforce the administrative directive fairly.
However, he said, “If an ordinance were to come before us, I would hope folks would take into consideration what might be applicable in other areas.”
Cincinnati requires employees who work directly for the city manager such as division and department heads to live in the city. All of the city's 7,000-odd employees have to live in Hamilton County. Any
exemptions have to be approved by city council. The theory behind Cincinnati's residency requirement is that employees will be more interested in the city, and it brings tax dollars to the city, said city spokeswoman Gina Ruffin-Moore.
Middletown and Lebanon require their city managers to reside in the city. In Monroe, the city manager and people appointed to boards and commissions have to live in the city.
In Mason, police are required to live within 30 minutes of the city. On-call firefighters are expected to live within five minutes of the station.
However, in Dayton, Ohio, all of the 2,944 employees are required to live in the city. There are no exceptions.
Hamilton Councilwoman Kathy Becker said she has heard some criticism about cities that have ordinances requiring employees to live in the city, including that such requirements limit cities' pools of prospective employees. But she said that would not stop her from approving an ordinance backed by union and city officials calling for city employees to live in Hamilton.
However, she would prefer an ordinance that said city employees must live in Butler County.
“I'm a firm believer in regionalism,” she said. “I think we're going to have to pass an ordinance at some point. I think you're going to reach a point when distance is going to become an issue.”
Deputy city manager Mark Brandenburger said the theories behind making employees live in the city are loyalty to the city and the community, the ability to vote for elected officials and the chance to generate income tax dollars.
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