Some Memphis City Council members hope to add a referendum on the Nov. 8 ballot that would require new city employees to live in the city limits, as Mayor Jim Strickland warned that tightening residency requirements could hurt public safety.
Council member Martavius Jones, who is new to the council and is sponsoring the ordinance, said his research showed that about 60 percent of hires lived outside Memphis after a 2010 referendum allowed them to live anywhere in Shelby County.
“To have a majority of your employees living outside of your tax base isn’t a fiscally sustainable model,” Jones said.
But the timing could be an issue as the city wrestles with a shortage of about 500 police officers and 200 firefighters, according to union officials’ estimates. That is partly attributable to recent benefits cuts made to free up money for city pension obligations. Soon after the vote, Strickland released a statement that he opposed further restricting residency requirements.
“As we work to recruit potential employees, particularly police officers and firefighters, it does us no good to add more restrictions,” he said.