Palmer voters to decide revised residency rule for its city manager

After seesawing back and forth on the issue, Palmer’s city council is asking voters to approve a change in the city’s charter that requires its manager to live inside the Palmer city limits.

The version of the resolution adopted last Tuesday, July 29, would put a question before voters in the Oct. 7 municipal election that would ease he requirement to allow the manage to live within five miles of Palmer’s limits instead of living inside the city limits.

The change is needed because the residency requirement makes it difficult to attract qualified candidates because it reduced the choice on housing. The five-mile limit creates more options for housing choices, making recruiting easier.

A version of the proposed charter change adopted by the council earlier would have removed the residency requirement completely but the council shifted its position after getting pushback from constituents. The earlier version was repealed Tuesday night and the five-mile residency rule was approved.

Local residency requirements are not unusual for certain professional and management positions.Typically they are adopted so that a manager will be in close proximity at almost all times in case of an emergency.