Palmer council keeps residency requirement intact

June 18, 2006

By DAWN DE BUSK

Frontiersman

PALMER - The four Palmer City Council members creating a quorum at Tuesday's regular meeting unanimously refused to lift the residency requirement for department heads, and instead decided to consider more attractive pay packages for city directors.

The rejected ordinance, which would have removed the city's residency requirement, had been offered as as way to widen the candidate pool for the public works director position. That position has been vacant since former department head Rick Koch accepted the job as Kenai city manager in March. A few years ago, the council expanded the residency requirement from within city limits to a 10 mile radius beyond the outskirts of town. That was done to garner more candidates for a Palmer police chief position that was

available.

&#8220I don't support this,” council member Brad Hanson said, adding the city should stick to its relocation policy.

&#8220As hokey as it sounds, we are going to get better leadership, better response from someone who lives in Palmer, instead of someone who works here and then goes home somewhere else.”

Hanson said a person who resides within the city is going to care more about its streets, its sewer and water systems, and its trash removal services than someone who lives

elsewhere in the state.

The focus should be on providing a better wage so department heads would be more likely to move to Palmer and stay, he said.

&#8220I may get voted down, but that's where I stand,” he said.

Following Hanson's statements, council members Tony Pippel and Ken Erbey, who had echoed some of the same sentiments as Hanson but were prepared to cancel the

residency requirement, switched their votes.

&#8220I was going to vote for this, but Mr. Hanson just swung me over with his eloquent rhetoric,” Mayor pro tem Pippel said.

&#8220One of the strengths of the department heads is all the employees do good jobs because they live here,” Pippel had said earlier.

&#8220But we don't have enough home-grown (candidates).”

Previously, Erbey stated he reluctantly supported changing the residency requirement. Council member Larry Hill also sided with Hanson, despite the existence of what he called &#8220our more mobile society,” people who commute to jobs in another town rather than living and working in the same community.

Palmer City Manager Tom Healy said Palmer's pay for department heads falls in the middle range, compared to salaries of similar jobs in other cities.

Currently, the vacant city position pays between $54,000 and $74,000 annually, Healy said.

&#8220Some people would take a pay cut,” he said.

For example, the public works director position requires an engineering degree or five years experience in that field, Healy said.

With as much construction and design work under way this time of year, most people can make more in the private sector than with the city, he said.

&#8220Yes, wages are an issue, not just the residency requirement. But removing the residency requirement would have removed an impediment,” Healy said.

&#8220We will be looking at pushing up the pay scale.”

Contact Dawn De Busk at 352-2252, or dawn. debusk@frontiersman.com.