Residency Requirements
Many cities have them for various reasons and they are always a bad idea. The most notorious one is in the City of St. Louis and has hurt the city’s ability to attract employees, most particularly police officers. Right now the city is infested with crime and down about 140 police officers from its’ authorized level. Cities do not grow though the use of artificial barriers. Furthermore, residency can be used as a means of racial discrimination. Webster Groves where I live, had required certain appointed city officials such as the City Attorney to live in the city. This almost certainly eliminated a candidate pool of African American candidates. Residency requirements; a bad idea. Written by Paul Dribin
The St Louis Contrarian 