Members of the state’s Joint Finance Committee met Friday in Greendale to hear eight hours of testimony from citizens on Gov. Scott Walker’s biennial budget, including Walker’s proposal to end the state’s residency requirement, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
The current residency requirement states public workers have to live in the city or town where they work. Local governments currently have the power to determine whether the law should be in place, but if Walker’s budget proposal were passed it would eliminate the requirement statewide.
The governor’s proposal has been popular with law enforcement officials who have come out largely in support of the measure. However, many local Wisconsin officials, including Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, have said they think the residency requirement should stay in place to keep the power in the hands of local governments.
Members of Professional Fire Fighters of Wisconsin, Inc., including the organization’s president, Mahlon Mitchell, who ran for lieutenant governor in last year’s recall election, said it supported ending the requirement to give flexibility to law enforcement officials in a March 6 letter to the JFC.
“We believe that every fire fighter in Wisconsin should have the freedom to live where they wish,” the members said in the statement. “That change will have a positive impact on Wisconsin’s ability to recruit and retain high-quality fire fighters to serve and protect the communities of our state.”
However, John Hermes, Greendale’s village president, said in his written remarks to the JFC he did not support ending the requirement, citing concerns over safety and a potential lack of local government control.
“The current draft of your legislative policy would no longer allow local government ability to control this employment condition, and [Greendale’s] need for urgent response times,” Hermes said.
The JFC will hold three more public hearings on the biennial budget.
