McMenamin still seeking votes for residency requirement April 1st, 2012

A proposal pushed by Ward 7 Ald. Joe McMenamin requiring new city government employees to live inside Springfield’s borders has been stalled in committee for more than five months. But McMenamin says he isn’t giving up.“Passing a residency requirement for new hires is about our city employees making a full commitment to this community, being our neighbors, dining at our restaurants … buying homes here, contributing to the real estate taxes that will finance their city pensions, and in the case of our police, parking their squad cars in our neighborhoods at night,” McMenamin said.

Opponents have said a residency requirement could limit recruitment efforts and that it shouldn’t matter where employees live as long as they do their jobs.

The history

About 35 percent of city government’s workforce, or approximately 540 employees, lives outside Springfield now, according to a State Journal-Register analysis of city payroll data last fall. It’s unclear how many employees have moved inside or outside Springfield since. A residency requirement was part of McMenamin’s platform when he ran for office last year.

What’s new?

McMenamin said Springfield residents continue to encourage him to pursue the issue. If his options fail, McMenamin said he will work with other aldermen to put the issue before the voters during the November election. About half of the city and utility’s payroll expenses are going to employees who live outside the city, he said. In addition, he said, pension money is increasingly being paid to retirees who live elsewhere.

“The combined wealth drain of payroll and pension money leaving our city will soon approach $2 million a week,” McMenamin said. “Over the course of time, if not corrected, this massive transfer of wealth from our taxpayers and ratepayers to the ring of prosperity around us will diminish Springfield life and  infrastructure forever.”

Read the full article at…sj-r.com