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Council expands fire‑department residency area to aid recruitment and retention
Summary
Council approved an amendment to the residency ordinance that expands the counties in which firefighters may live (broadening the previous boundary that covered fewer counties) to increase the candidate pool for the department and reduce recruitment/retention pressures, staff said.
The fire chief asked council to amend the city’s residency ordinance for firefighters to expand the counties where employees may live in order to improve recruitment and retention.
The chief summarized the history: residency requirements were tightened after statewide legal challenges to residency mandates, and the city’s current ordinance restricts firefighter residency to adjacent counties (a limited set). The chief asked council to expand the permitted geographic area (adding a broader set of counties indicated on a staff map) so the department would gain access to a larger candidate pool and reduce the risk that existing firefighters would leave for departments without residency requirements.
The chief said the proposed change would expand the residency area “from 7 to about 16 counties,” giving the department greater flexibility in hiring while maintaining a requirement that employees live reasonably close to the city. Council discussed training partnerships, mutual‑aid relationships with neighboring departments and the cultural role that on‑call response plays in department staffing.
Council moved, seconded and approved an emergency ordinance amendment to change the residency boundaries as presented; staff said the measure is intended to be a measured recruitment tool, not a full elimination of residency requirements.
