For more than a century Jamestown has required that its department heads live in the city.

For decades the residency requirement wasn’t a problem. That has changed over the past 20 or so years, as it has gotten more and more difficult to find department head candidates who either already live in the city or are willing to move into the city.

So it wasn’t a surprise that Bill Reynolds, R-Ward 5, proposed changing the city’s residency requirement to more closely resemble language included in the state’s Civil Service that would require department heads live in either Chautauqua County or an adjoining county.

It’s preferable to have department heads – often among the highest paid city employees – living inside the city limits. Proximity can be important in some cases, like the development director needing to be available to sign off on an emergency house demolition or a serious crime or fire that requires the police chief or fire chief to be available quickly. A 2020 report showed 46% of city firefighters lived inside the city limits while 51% of city police officers chose to live in Jamestown. The numbers were higher for other employees: 70% of public works and park workers lived in Jamestown while 86% of management employees lived in the city. Taxpayers are paying higher and higher property taxes for employees who are largely investing in other communities. We understand why council members and some city residents would blanche at the thought.

Still, it’s getting harder and harder to find department heads who want to live inside the city limits when there is land with big houses, acres of land and few neighbors just across municipal borders in Kiantone, Busti, Fluvanna and Ellery. City officials sometimes find themselves boxed into the difficult position of adhering to the residency requirement to fill vacancies and using “acting” department head titles because there aren’t city residents who want the job.

It’s a situation that’s playing itself out now. The city’s deputy fire chief is due to retire soon, and there are, at this point, two people in Chautauqua County with the required qualifications – and only one is a candidate for the Jamestown position. Mayor Kim Ecklund says the city has received several resumes, and she thinks there are qualified candidates who would move into the city if offered the job.

Again, it’s preferable to have department heads live inside the city. But if the city is going to relax its residency requirement for department heads it makes sense to have department heads living closer than , say, Olean, which would be allowed under the proposal discussed last week. Modern communications has made it easier to lead during a commute from home into the city, but minutes still count. A 10- or 15-minute drive is preferable to a drive from one end of Cattaraugus County or Erie County back into Jamestown.

Lastly, judging from last week’s discussion there is an appetite among council members to have department heads live in Jamestown. It’s quite a statement about the state of some city neighborhoods and the cost of taxes in the city that department heads aren’t more willing to live where they work. Were Jamestown more attractive, perhaps changing the residency requirement wouldn’t be necessary.