If you want to work for the capital city you might need to live there too. Springfield Mayor Jim Langfelder said he's close to drafting the language so the city council can consider the change. It's a major platform for the mayor.
And it's not the first time a live-in requirement would exist in Springfield. It had been in effect from the 1970s to 2000. Mayor Langfelder said he wants to present the council with a plan by the end of this month to bring the requirement back.
To Mayor Langfelder it's a simple concept - work for the city, live in the city.
“Now that's what we see is a large exodus of individuals or people being hired from the outside,” he said.
He said more than 30 percent of city workers live outside city limits and the goal is to bring in more property tax revenue for Springfield.
It could help pay for the city's rapidly rising pension costs. The mayor said it's about setting a standard.
“That's a hard argument to refute is that all of our property taxes with all the residents in the city go to pay the city's pensions and retirement,” he said. “And I just believe employees should live in the city of Springfield to help pay those costs.”
For some departments, such as Springfield Fire Department, there are as many as 25 percent of its workers live outside Springfield.