LYNN — The City Council voted, 8-2, Tuesday night to send a home-rule petition to the state legislature that would eliminate the city charter’s residency requirement.
This home-rule petition, which requires approval from the legislature and has to be signed into law by the governor, would allow for non-Lynn residents to work for the city. The city’s residency requirement already currently exempts the superintendent of schools, chief financial officer, teachers, police officers, and firefighters; this would eliminate the requirement for all city jobs.
Ward 2 Councilor Rick Starbard and Ward 6 Councilor Fred Hogan were the two ‘no’ votes. Ward 1 Councilor Wayne Lozzi was absent for the vote.
Voting in favor were City Council President Jay Walsh; Council Vice President Buzzy Barton; Councilors-at-Large Brian Field, Brian LaPierre and Hong Net; and Councilors Coco Alinsug, Richard Colucci, and Dianna Chakoutis, who represent wards 3, 4 and 5, respectively.
“I support getting rid of the requirement because it offers more quality selection in our candidates,” Net said. “It gives people a fair chance when they apply.”
Starbard and Hogan said that while they do support the elimination of the residency requirement from the city charter, they were against the process of doing it through a home-rule petition. Both were supportive of the other option laid out by the city’s Law Department: allowing the city’s voters to decide through a ballot referendum.
“I don’t disagree with what has been said at tonight’s meeting,” Starbard said. “I just think the way we are doing this is wrong.”
Before the vote, Mayor Jared Nicholson told the City Council that the reasoning behind his recommendation for a home-rule petition, rather than a ballot initiative, was timing. He said a referendum to eliminate the requirement would be too lengthy a process, when factoring in everything involved, such as collecting signatures.
“Without the change, we can’t provide the best services for the people of Lynn,” said Nicholson, who proposed the elimination of the residency requirement with Walsh.
Nicholson and Walsh have said that the residency requirement makes it harder for the city to hire people with specialized skills, and presents inequality through its enforcement, which creates housing-market pressure on those who have lower-income jobs.
Former Mayor Thomas M. McGee, who also attended Tuesday’s meeting, agreed with Nicholson. He said his administration — which immediately preceded Nicholson’s — faced similar challenges in hiring and collective bargaining. He said the change would help Lynn’s taxpayers, as city officials had to hire contract workers if they could not find any qualified candidates residing in the city.
“When I was mayor, each department raised residency as an issue when it came to hiring,” McGee said to the City Council. “Not only will it help those applying, but it will help the Lynn taxpayer as well.”
Both Nicholson and McGee said Lynn residents would be given priority in hiring, through language in the home-rule petition for the proposed charter change.
Lisa Pressman, the founder of Concerned Citizens of Lynn, said during a public hearing held before the vote that she was against moving forward with the council vote because she felt it shut residents out of the process. She was in favor of the matter being decided during a ballot initiative, and intends to continue pushing for a citywide vote despite Tuesday’s decision.
“We are going to try to put it on the ballot,” said Pressman. “Even if it is voted down, we are going to get it done the proper way. All we want is it to be on the ballot and we are against being given little notice on the home-rule petition vote and sneaking it through like this.”
Jim Moser, a Lynn resident, wrote a letter to the City Council in support of rescinding the work requirement, writing that larger unions — namely those that include teachers, police officers and firefighters — were able to bargain through contract negotiations to be exempt from this requirement by statute.
“There are other barriers to hiring, but the residency requirement is one of them,” Moser wrote. “Hire the best to move Lynn forward.”
Also approved Tuesday night was a home-rule petition to eliminate the residency requirement for the Lynn Water & Sewer Commission, which had been established by statute. In addition, the City Council voted to eliminate the residency requirement for certain departments, such as the Law Department, and the Human Rights Commission. The home-rule petition requires approval from the state legislature, but Nicholson has the authority to affirm the council vote for the ordinances.
Starbard and Hogan voted against these additional measures, and Alinsug also voted against the Human Rights Commission ordinance, which unlike the other 8-2 votes, passed with a 7-3 tally.
“I voted ‘yes’ for the other eliminations, but I believe that those who deal with human rights are from Lynn,” said Alinsug.
