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County attorney proposes lifting residency requirement for assistant attorneys to expand applicant pool
Summary
County Attorney Anna Morgan presented a proposed local law to waive Chautauqua County92s residency requirement for assistant county attorneys for candidates who live in New York State and in counties adjoining Chautauqua County, aiming to improve recruitment and retention.
Chautauqua County Attorney Anna Morgan presented a proposed local law (Intro 04/25) to lift the county92s residency requirement for assistant attorneys in specified circumstances.
Under the proposal, assistant attorneys would still be required to live in the State of New York, but the residency requirement would be waived for candidates who reside in counties adjoining Chautauqua County (the transcript specifically cited Erie County as an example). The proposed change would not permit hires from out of state. Morgan said the proposal is not a blanket waiver: department heads would not designate out-of-county hires as acting county attorney; those acting-designation roles would remain reserved for attorneys who reside in Chautauqua County. Morgan said the change aims to address persistent recruiting and retention challenges, especially among younger attorneys who are reluctant or unable to relocate immediately but can commute from nearby counties.
Morgan said her office, social services and the district attorney92s office discussed the approach and already know of concrete candidates who live in neighboring counties and are willing to work in Chautauqua County. The committee discussed potential downsides, such as commute reliability and the need to avoid disadvantaging local residents in hiring. Morgan said the county would continue to prefer and promote local applicants and that promotions to roles requiring acting-designation would still require residency in the county.
The proposal was presented for committee consideration as an introductory local law; no final adoption vote was recorded in the transcript.
Why it matters: the change could ease hiring pressure for county legal offices and social services by enlarging the candidate pool while preserving local control for acting-designation positions.
Next steps: staff will continue to vet the draft local law and departments will consider operational impacts during hiring.
