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Council hears public comment on proposed town manager residency amendment
Summary
A public hearing was held on a charter amendment to allow the town manager to be appointed without being a resident at the time of appointment, while requiring residency within a reasonable distance during tenure pending council approval; council discussed recruitment flexibility versus local residency expectations.
The Town of Tazewell council opened a public hearing on a proposed amendment to article 3, section 3-9.1 of the town charter that would revise residency requirements for the town manager.
The proposal, read into the record, would allow the council to appoint a town manager who is not a resident of the town or Commonwealth at the time of appointment, while requiring that the manager reside in the town or within a reasonable distance during the tenure upon majority council approval. Staff cited similar language adopted recently by another locality as precedent and said the change was intended to broaden the candidate pool for recruitment.
Council members debated the tradeoff between local expectations that the manager live in town and the practical need to recruit qualified candidates at the proposed salary and benefits. Some members supported the flexibility to appoint non-residents who would move into the area, while others said residency helps ensure day‑to‑day accessibility to the community. No final action was taken; the charter language was read and advanced through its first reading as part of the meeting packet and the council agreed to follow the statutory submission procedures to the General Assembly for consideration in the next legislative session.
