Two efforts to get Little Rock city employees to live in the city will be discussed at tonight's Board of Directors meeting.
A residency-incentive policy for all city employees and a proposed residency requirement for police officers aren't joint propositions. However, they could work in conjunction with each other.
Ward 1 City Director Erma Hendrix is bringing forth the proposed ordinance that would require any police recruit hired after this month to live in Little Rock or move to the city within 90 days. It's the second time in just over a year that Hendrix has proposed the requirement. A vote on a similar proposal failed last year, when many directors said they favored incentives instead.
City Manager Bruce Moore, who has said he doesn't support a residency requirement for police officers, is proposing the incentive policy. During last year's debate on police residency, Moore said he would never support a program that requires something of one department and not of others.
His proposed incentive program would give all new city employees the benefit of monetary assistance in the purchase of a home or the lease of one within city limits.
The program would apply to any employee hired on or after Aug. 1, 2016.
Those employees would have one year after their hire date to apply for assistance through the program. The city would award $5,000 to home buyers and $2,500 to renters as an incentive for the employees to live in Little Rock. The money could be used for a number of things, such as for a down payment, to buy a lower interest rate on a home loan, or as rent money.
The employees would have to provide documents showing the funds were used properly.
"I looked at the average home value in Little Rock, and it's about $168,000," Moore said. "If you look at the property tax, that's going to generate for the city almost $600. For the Little Rock School District, it's about $1,500. So within less than three years, our incentive has paid dividends. That's going to continue to grow even after our $5,000 has been captured."
Over the past six years, the city has hired about 127 people per year, Moore said. Half of those don't live in Little Rock. Moore estimated that about 5 percent of them would take advantage of the program and projected that the first year pilot would cost about $40,000 to $45,000.
"I always encourage our employees to live in the city and spend their tax dollars here. ... This has the potential to be very positive overall for the city because these employees are then choosing to make this their home," Moore said.
Employees accepting the incentive would have to agree to stay employed by the city for two years, or else repay the money. Anyone who is fired wouldn't have to repay the funds. The city of Austin, Texas, is considering adopting a similar policy, and other cities have seen success with such policies, Moore said.
Unlike the incentive plan, Hendrix's proposal would only apply to police officers, and they wouldn't have a choice.
"A residency requirement for employment by the Little Rock Police Department enhances the ability to respond more quickly to city needs, especially in times of emergency," the ordinance says.
It also said the requirement would promote community involvement and enhance quality of life in the city.
The requirement states that any newly hired police officer must live in the city or move inside city limits within 90 days of being hired, or else be terminated.
If approved next week, the mandate would not apply to the August 2016 police recruit class. It would not apply to current Police Department employees or any city employee who later becomes a police officer or is promoted.
The ordinance also allows for discretion from the city manager in applying the policy.
Moore would be "authorized to recognize special circumstances in which strict compliance with the terms of this ordinance are not possible, and in such situations to grant an employee a grace period to reestablish residency within the city for special circumstances such as, but not limited to, the loss of a home due to fire or natural disaster," the ordinance states.
As of last month, more than 65 percent of Little Rock's police officers, 345 of 528, lived outside the city. None of them would be affected by the new policy if it were adopted.
The Police Department's union, the Fraternal Order of Police, is against adopting a residency requirement.
Union President Tommy Hudson previously said Hendrix's repeated attempt to force police to live in the city is an insult.
"She goes on this rant that she thinks officers are going to have more appreciation for their job living in the area they work, but what she doesn't take into consideration is the amount they are getting paid, for them to live in the houses they live in outside the city, they wouldn't be able to live in those houses inside Little Rock because it's too expensive. And there's also the problems with the school system," said Hudson, who lives outside the city.
Hendrix last month announced her plan to have another vote on the residency requirement. She said the killings of black men in Baton Rouge and Minnesota prompted the resurgence of the discussion.
In June last year, a vote on a similar residency requirement for police failed 6-4.
Voting against it were Joan Adcock, Brad Cazort, Gene Fortson, Lance Hines, Dean Kumpuris and B.J. Wyrick. Voting for it were Hendrix, Ken Richardson, Kathy Webb and Doris Wright.
The city board will meet at 4 p.m. today at City Hall in the second-floor boardroom to discuss both proposals while setting the agenda for their 6 p.m. meeting, where they are expected to vote on each.
Metro on 08/30/2016