Council undecided on department head residency requirements

Following a June 5 work session, the Front Royal Town Council seems no closer to a decision on changing employee residency requirements.  The matter was scheduled for further discussion at a future work session.

At primary issue is the search for a new police chief.  Currently, only the Town Manager is required to live inside the town limits.  And recently elevated to permanent Town Manager Joe Waltz told council he has been informing police chief applicants that residency “could become an issue”.   If either of FRPD’s current captains, Jason Ryman and Kevin Nicewarner, applied they would be impacted by the proposed change.  Both live in adjacent counties.

OK, which way should we go on this one? Mayor Tharpe polls council in file photo.

Council opinions ranged from “maybe” just adding the police chief – Jacob Meza and John Connolly – to adding most major department heads – Gene Tewalt and Bébhinn Egger.  It was noted that any change would only apply to future hires, but would not impact sitting town employees.  And Egger noted that she was not likely to still be on council by the time a decision was made.  Her announced resignation will become effective July 1, after she is married and moves out of town and state to the home of her new husband.

Tewalt said he thought any department head “with access to millions of dollars” in their budget should live in town.  His rationale was so that the department head would, like other town citizens, feel the tax impact of budget increases.

William Sealock suggested any department head on 24-by-7 emergency call should probably live in town, or at least very close by.  He said he understood why the town had previously cut back the requirement – noting that the type of housing department head candidates were seeking were only being built in the county.  However, he favored an in-county requirement, noting that someone making a six-figure salary from the Town would end up spending that money in the community in which they lived, not here in the community that was paying them.

Tewalt suggested adding an in-town residency requirement for the police chief, and directors of public works, finance and electric departments, as well as a town engineer if the council decides to hire one.

Meza said he understood the town manager and police chief having the in-town residency requirement, but called establishing for the other positions “arbitrary”.

Connolly said too broad an application of the requirement could limit the quality of applicants who could be considered.