John Reynolds
The State Journal-Register
An ordinance requiring Springfield municipal employees to live within city limits will get its first reading at next week’s Springfield City Council meeting and a vote as early as June 21.
The ordinance, if approved, would go into effect Jan. 1, 2017, and cover regular part-time, full-time and temporary employees. The ordinance provides an exemption for current city employees who have continuously maintained a home outside the city limits prior to 2017. Employees who live in the city and move outside of city limits after Jan. 1, 2017, would be required to quit their job or be fired.
The ordinance was requested by Mayor Jim Langfelder, Ward 3 Ald. Doris Turner and Ward 7 Ald. Joe McMenamin. The first opportunity for the proposal to be voted on will be at the June 21 city council meeting.
One other scenario the ordinance addresses is what would happen if a city employee who is required to live in the city marries another city employee who is allowed to keep living outside the city. In this instance, the couple could live at either location.
According to employment data provided by the city in October, 443 of the city’s 1,430 workers didn’t have Springfield addresses. The data didn’t reflect people who had Springfield mailing addresses but didn’t live within the city’s official boundaries. So the total number of employees residing outside city boundaries was higher.
Joe McMenamin for Ward 7 