DEANA STROISCH
The State Journal-Register
A day after a majority of Springfield residents voted in favor of requiring future city employees to live in the city, aldermen remained divided on the issue.
Ward 7 Ald. Joe McMenamin said Wednesday he doesn’t plan to call for an immediate vote by the city council. Instead, he plans to discuss the results of the advisory referendum with other aldermen and the mayor and then decide how to proceed.
About 59 percent of city voters supported the proposal. It passed in 99 of the 104 election precincts in the city of Springfield. The exceptions were five precincts in Ward 1, which is represented by Ald. Frank Edwards. Ward 1 includes the area around Lake Springfield, where many city police and firefighters live.
“I see this as a decisive majority,” McMenamin said. “Very strong majority. Unequivocal.” McMenamin has been pushing the residency issue since he was elected to the council in 2011,. “The whole point is we have to support our tax base. … That’s what they voted for,” he said. “We need to support our tax base going forward.”
Aldermen voted 7-2-1 in August to put the non-binding referendum on the ballot.
Supporters disagree with the mayor’s assertion that the city would need to pay union employees extra to live in the city.
‘Can’t ignore’ results
Ward 3 Ald. Doris Turner, who supports a residency requirement, said she isn’t surprised that a majority of voters agree. “I believe that support for a residency requirement is even more strong than the election results would indicate,” she said. “However, I do not believe that any alderman will change their mind. Those who supported residency on November 5th will still support it, and those who opposed it will still be opposed.”
Ward 9 Ald. Steven Dove said he will analyze the votes in his ward, and if there was a strong showing for or against it, he will vote accordingly.
Ward 5 Ald. Sam Cahnman said he is leaning toward supporting a residency requirement because nearly 60 percent of the voters supported the idea. “I can’t ignore that, nor should I,” he said.
Changes sought
McMenamin said it probably will be easier to start over with a new ordinance rather than reviving an old one that has remained in committee for a year.
He said he is suggesting several changes, including requiring the city’s human resources department to maintain a list of all employees hired after a residency requirement goes into effect. Those employees would have to sign an annual certification of their home addresses and promise that they’re in compliance with the rules.
He said the city would be under no obligation to investigate an employee’s residency status unless there was a sworn affidavit from a complaining witness. “That eliminates anonymous and unsubstantiated complaints,” McMenamin said.
Residency referendum results
YES 29,351 58.7%
NO 20,654 41.3%
Joe McMenamin for Ward 7 