| Mandatory residential clause for city dwellers could ease unemployment and foreclosure problems in Lowell City. Alan Kazanjian, formerly a councilor of Lowell City had tried to introduce a residency condition in 2008 that would have mandated new persons hired by the city government who were not residents of Lowell to become so within one year.
His suggestion did not get sufficient support but today Rodney Elliot, a City Councilor is of the opinion that this debated issue should be reviewed once more. Elliot thinks such a condition would bring down the unemployment and foreclosure numbers of the state and give a fillip to the sagging local businesses. He argued, “With so many Lowellians out of work, it would be nice to use the city positions to put them back to work. There are so many beautiful homes in the city for sale or in foreclosure People living in the city might close that gap. It is a win-win. You have people that work in the city, buying homes in the city, and spending money in the city”.
Today 54% of the non-school employees of the city reside in the city. 47% school employees of Lowell School Department are residents of Lowell. Christine O Connor, the solicitor of the city said that this residency requirement was running in the city from 1992 till 1994. It was later replaced by a policy that gave “preferential treatment” to the residents of Lowell in matters of hiring. She was hopeful that this residential requirement clause would get support. Three other big cities of the Massachusetts State – Boston, New Bedford and Springfield have this condition in operation and running.
Elliot noted that he had not as yet put together the formal proposal but he has plans of discussing the matter with other councilors to measure their support for putting into force some sort of residency requirement.
Speaking to The Sun another councilor said he would like to see this requirement enforced while the others showed their support for offering new hires, encouragement in the form of incentives to set up their residences in Lowell; it also meant incentives to the dwellers of the city to apply for positions in the city administration. |
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