City of Springfield, MA Residency Requirements

Except as provided for in this article, every person first employed by the City of Springfield on or after March 17, 1995, shall, within 12 months of the start of employment, be a resident of the City of Springfield and shall not cease to be a resident during his employment by the City.

For the purpose of this article, an employee shall be any person receiving monies from the City or any City department subject to withholding taxes by the state or federal government.

Notwithstanding the provisions of this article, all employees employed by the City of Springfield on March 17, 1995, shall be considered to have fully complied with the residency provisions of this article.

§ 73-9 Condition of promotion.

Except as provided for in this article, all persons promoted by the City on or after March 17, 1995, shall be or within one year of such promotion become a resident of the City as defined herein. Failure to do so shall be determined to be voluntary termination of employment.

§ 73-10 Certificate of residence.

Upon taking employment with the City, and annually on February 1 thereafter, every person subject to this article shall file with his or her department head, or like officer, a certificate, signed under the pains and penalties of perjury, stating his or her name and place of residence. A copy of every such certificate shall be transmitted by the department head or like officer to the Residency Compliance Commission within five business days of filing.

Upon receipt of a certificate indicating a place of residence not within the City, or if no such certificate is filed, the department head or like officer shall forthwith strike the name of the employee from the payroll, that person shall cease to be employed by the City, and the department head or like officer shall give notice of his or her action to the City Clerk, who shall transmit the same to the City Council, Mayor, and Collector/Treasurer. This subsection shall not apply to employees exempted from the residency ordinance as provided for in this article.

No person so stricken from the payroll shall be reemployed by the City for a period of one year following the cessation of his or her employment.

Every employee shall be furnished a copy of the residency ordinance when hired and annually thereafter, but failure to receive a copy shall not be held to excuse any violation.

§ 73-11 Conflict with collective bargaining agreements and general laws.

To the extent permissible by law, no collective bargaining agreement hereafter entered into by the City of Springfield shall contain any provision contrary to the provisions hereof, nor shall the absence of any provision with respect to the residency of any person hired after the date of such contract be deemed to prevent enforcement of this article.

To the extent permissible by Chapter 31 of the General Laws, every examination held to establish a civil service list for employment by the City of Springfield shall be restricted to the City of Springfield residents. In the event this section shall be deemed to be in conflict with a provision of any general or special law, the provisions of that general or special law shall govern, and shall not defeat the application of this article with respect to any position not governed by that law.

§ 73-12 Board and commission members.

All persons appointed to membership on boards and commissions of the City shall be residents of the City during the terms for which they are appointed.

This section shall not apply to persons appointed to advisory committees or to committees established under federal or state grant-in-aid programs except where otherwise specified.

§ 73-13 Waiver.

[Amended 4-4-2016]

The provisions of this chapter may be waived only in the manner described herein. All requests for waiver shall be submitted in writing to the Director of Labor Relations. The Director of Labor Relations shall redact all personal information related to the individual requesting the waiver, and forward the request to the Mayor and City Council. With the request, the Director of Labor Relations shall provide details about the job posting, including, but not limited to: the date the job was posted, the date the posting was closed, the number of applicants who applied, in said notice forwarded to the City Council, the Director of Labor Relations shall redact all personal information, including the name of the waiver and the number of Springfield residents who applied. After the request is forwarded to the Mayor and the City Council, the job posting will be opened for a second time for a period not less than seven days. The posting will be publicly posted on the City's website.

If a candidate, who meets the minimum qualifications for the posted position and who resides within the City of Springfield, does not apply for the position, then the Mayor, in his sole discretion, may grant the waiver. Any such waiver granted by the Mayor must be forwarded directly to the City Council for purposes of notification. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to invalidate waivers granted by the Mayor or the Control Board prior to April 1, 2016, nor shall this section restrict the Mayor to make reappointments to existing City employees.

A department head or deputy department head shall not be eligible for a waiver of the residency requirement.

§ 73-14 Actual principal residence.

In construing this article, "residence" shall be the actual principal residence of the individual, where he or she normally eats and sleeps and maintains his or her normal personal household effects. This article shall be deemed to affect both civil service and non-civil service employees of the City.

§ 73-15 Residency Compliance Commission.

There shall be a Residency Compliance Commission ("Commission") comprising seven Commissioners, five to be appointed by the Mayor of the City of Springfield with one being a City union representative, and two other members, one of whom shall be the City's affirmative action officer and one of whom shall be the President of the City Council, or such other Councilor designated from time to time by the Council President.

The purpose of the Commission shall be to investigate and make findings relative to compliance with Springfield's residency ordinance.

All Commissioners, with the exception of the Council President, shall serve coterminous with the Mayor and any vacancies shall be filled by the Mayor for the unexpired term. The Commission shall elect annually a Commissioner as Chairperson. Commissioners shall serve without compensation and shall be classified as special municipal employees for the purposes of the State Ethics Law, General Laws Chapter 268A.

The Commission shall have the power to investigate, conduct hearings, administer oaths, take testimony of any person under oath and in connection therewith to require the production for examination of any documents, books, papers, or evidence relating to any other matter in question or under investigation by the Commission. The Commission may appoint from within or without its membership a hearing officer to conduct particular hearings upon a majority vote of the Commission. The employees who are the subject of a hearing shall be afforded notice and an opportunity to provide testimony, witnesses, documents and to have counsel present.

Should the Commission, after hearing, find that an employee who is subject to the residency ordinance does not reside within the City of Springfield, the Commission shall issue its findings to the employee's department head, who shall recommend appropriate action to the Mayor of the City of Springfield.

Semiannually, the Commission shall provide a written report to the Mayor, who shall file a copy with the City Council. This report shall include all investigations and findings by the Commission with respect to the residency ordinance.

§ 73-16 Residency Compliance Unit.

There shall be a Residency Compliance Unit ("Compliance Unit") within the Personnel Department, which shall also have the power to conduct investigations of City employees and officers where there is reason to believe that an employee or officer may be in violation of the residency ordinance. The Springfield Police Department shall serve as investigators for both the Compliance Unit and Commission.

The Compliance Unit shall ensure, pursuant to the residency ordinance, the filing of residency affidavits and submission of additional documentation to verify residency. It shall also serve as a vehicle whereby employees and the general public may report those who are believed to be in violation of the residency ordinance. Where questionable claims of residency exist, the Compliance Unit shall forward such to the Compliance Commission for further investigation as delineated in § 73-15 above.

§ 73-17 Residency for former positions or titles.

For the purpose of this article, all positions or titles listed in former Section 3.08.080 (November 11, 1991 and March 25, 1992) shall be governed by this article, unless excluded by law or collective bargaining agreements.