Firefighters are no longer required to live within 10 miles of City Hall.
City Council members voted 6-1 Monday to remove Waterloo Fire Rescue staff from a policy forcing “critical municipal employees” to live in within that radius.
Fire Chief Pat Treloar had sought the change, noting the limits are far more restrictive than requirements in other cities and appear to be limiting the number of quality applicants for open positions.
Treloar, whose request was supported by the Waterloo Civil Service Commission, said his department rarely has any personnel call-backs for off-duty firefighters.
Councilman Dave Boesen, a retired firefighter, supported the measure and said he was only called back once during his 28 years on the force, and it wasn’t during an emergency.
“I truly believe it will help with recruitment, especially firefighter paramedics,” Boesen said.