the city had the legal right to enforce a residency requirement.
Yes that well really help solve the recruitment problem.
/S/
I do not believe they can legally impose retroactive residency requirements.
The Firefighters In San Fransisco I knew 15 years ago “lived in Oregon” on paper so they could register their cars there without CARB requirements.
They knew they wouldn’t be able to live in SF if they retired or couldn’t work, so they had an escape plan...and if The Big One hit....
What if he hits traffic on the way to the fire?
Seems to me you would want people who are not emotionally invested in such positions so they are making decisions based on logic instead of “OMG the sky is falling on my neighborhood!” type of thinking.
Firefighters are a bit unique. They live at the station while on duty. Smart to live somewhere else and collect the big bucks.
Well, I guess you could carve out a little spot under a bridge....maybe
How does a Cauliphonya “firefighter” fight fires in Cauliphonya from Alaska? Must be a Cauliphonya thing.
NYC residency requirements for FDNY and NYPD are actually quite liberal in the old school sense - members of those departments can live in Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Rockland, Orange and Putnam Counties. Nevertheless, there are cases of cops and firemen living across state lines in NJ including a former cop turned mayor who was living in Fort Lee, NJ until recently l ;).
One solution related to housing costs, would be for the fire department to own housing, and rent that housing to employees at a discounted rate, so they can afford to live in L.A.
I don’t know if there are tax implications with that, in that, discouted rent would be like additional income. But if this problem is that severe, LA needs to do something like this, if they want to ensure their firemen actually live in LA when off the clock.
IF they live elsewhere-—do they file Calif income tax returns???
“...attract more city residents, women and minorities to the department...”