Five department heads in New Haven, Connecticut, have applied for residency-requirement waivers, allowing them to live outside of the city. The police chief, controller, assessor, youth and recreation director, and building official have all submitted applications to the Board of Alders.

Waiver Applications

The applications, which were submitted by Chief of Staff Sean Matteson, request an exception to the City Charter requirement concerning resident elector status for the relevant appointed officials. The legislation outlines criteria for the personnel director to consider as part of the review process for the residency waiver, including whether the appointee would suffer a substantial hardship by having to move to New Haven.

Each of the department heads has a personal and financial interest in living outside of New Haven. For example, Police Chief David Zannelli owns a home in Mystic, where his children attend school, while City Controller Michael Gormany has lived in Branford since 2005 and would face economic hardship if he had to maintain a second residence in New Haven.

The applications will next head to an aldermanic committee for public hearings before returning to the full board for final votes. The Board of Alders voted on June 1 to institute a case-by-case waiver system to the city residency requirement, which currently impacts appointed city officials.

Original reporting: New Haven Independent — read the source article.