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Police and Fire Commission recommends city require commissioners to be Berlin residents
Summary
After debate about recruitment and local control, the Police and Fire Commission voted June 3 to recommend the common council require commission members be residents of the city of Berlin; the recommendation will be forwarded to council for ordinance consideration.
The Berlin Police and Fire Commission voted June 3 to recommend that members of city boards overseeing police and fire services be residents of the city of Berlin and asked the common council to consider changing the ordinance accordingly.
Staff member Justin told the commission the request to review residency arose after a resident suggested expanding eligibility to include business owners and others who live outside city limits to help fill vacancies. Justin said the council asked each board and commission for a tailored recommendation: "A resident came in and suggested that we look at allowing others to serve on the council and all the other committees and commissions because we've had a difficult time filling the positions," Justin said.
Commissioners discussed competing priorities: recruitment challenges cited by some, and the view that public-safety boards should be composed of local residents who live under the policies those bodies influence. One commissioner said the city’s public-safety responsibilities weighed in favor of selecting city residents.
After discussion, the commission made and carried a motion to recommend that members of the Police and Fire Commission be residents of the city of Berlin; the commission will forward that recommendation to the common council for potential ordinance revision. The motion passed by voice vote.
The record includes staff and attorney guidance that the cited state statute requires appointees be "a citizen" but does not explicitly state that an appointee must be a resident of the city; the commission’s recommendation asks the council to adopt a local residency requirement if it chooses. The council must take any ordinance action to change eligibility.
Next steps: the commission forwarded its recommendation to the common council; the council will consider whether and how to revise the ordinance. The commission did not adopt specific residency language (for example, distance or district-based residency) in its motion; the council will determine exact ordinance text if it acts.
