PLATFORM : Living Where You Work Gives Employees a Bigger Stake in the Community

City residency requirements create an environment where employees are exposed to the good and bad of the city on a daily basis. It can also have the positive effect of motivating law-enforcement officers to take a more active role in improving the standard of life.

A failure to strongly encourage city employees to reside within Los Angeles promotes the occupying army mind-set the ACLU spoke of. An equally destructive byproduct of non-residency is the fact that these workers are supporting the tax base of other cities. Their children attend schools outside the city. They shop outside the city. And the extended commutes cause significant pollution.

Perhaps it is time to rethink the 1974 amendment to the state Constitution, which barred residency requirements. Regardless, the city should establish a goal of 100% residency. Incentives for living in the city could include additional points given in the civil-service promotion process, salary incentives, rental subsidies and low-and no-interest mortgage loans.