Milwaukee City Employee Speaks Up For Residency

Dan Casanove, sends from his home email account an op-ed quality defense of Milwaukee residency that Republican legislators want to repeal. Thank you, Dan:

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I am a City of Milwaukee employee subject to the residency requirement and I wholeheartedly support it.  Quite simply, I support it because it promotes accountable and effective government.  Here are some more details on why I believe the residency requirement should remain intact:

-  Accountability:  Employees are more likely to be better stewards of tax dollars when it is their own tax dollars being used on projects or paying their salary.  I’ve worked for another municipality and can attest to the lack of concern over wasted tax dollars that employees who don’t live in that city can have.

-  Commitment, Loyalty and Pride:  In an age where public employees are vilified on a daily basis, an effective employee can’t just be working for a paycheck.  The taxpayers deserve someone who is loyal to and has pride in the City that employees them.  Would we expect the Packers to hire a diehard Bears fan?

-  Safety:  In the case of an emergency, whether a blizzard, major fire or worse, it is important that public employees can quickly and safely get to work to ensure the safety of the pubic, as we all expect.

-  Respect:  Will a resident respect a police officer who doesn’t live in the City?  Will an elected official have confidence in a non-resident employee’s decision, who may not always have the best interest of the City in mind?

-  Qualified:  City residents are better qualified to solve problems facing the City because they live among the citizens, talk to their neighbors and experience the City firsthand.  When something bad happens in the City, it impacts them just like everyone else.  To be an effective employee, understanding the city you work for is very important. 

-  Local Control:  The City should have control over how and where their tax dollars are spent, a large proportion of which are employee salaries and benefits.  If the City does not feel they are able to find qualified employees, it should be their decision to lift this requirement.  This should not be something decided by the State of Wisconsin. 

In addition to the above reasons, one should also consider the impacts that lifting residency will have on neighborhood stability and tax base in a City consistently ranked one of the poorest in the nation.  Losing taxpayer funded middle class residents would be an unnecessary setback to the City of Milwaukee and does nothing to solve the State of Wisconsin’s budget crisis.

Dan Casanova