Many people are talking about a Baltimore Deputy Mayor who lives outside of Baltimore. Quite a few people think it is offensive for a high ranking (and high paid) person in the mayor’s office to live outside of the city. A few people are shocked that this could happen. There is nothing illegal about this and none of you should be shocked, but I think there is something wrong with this picture.
There should be no shock about people in the mayor’s office (or any other city employee) living outside of Baltimore. Two weeks ago I posted about the numerous city employees who live outside of Baltimore and Maryland. Yakov Shafranovich posted specific numbers at his blog:
- 38.43% of Baltimore City’s 14,559 employees live outside of the city in Maryland.
- 5.1% of Baltimore City employees live outside of Maryland.
- The Mayor’s Office has 111 employees and 30 of them live outside of Baltimore in Maryland and 16 of them live outside of Maryland.
Imagine if the 6,338 Baltimore employees who live outside of Baltimore were forced to live in Baltimore or quit their jobs. The mayor wants to add 10,000 new families to Baltimore over the next decade. If the city told every city employee today that they have until the start of 2017 to move to Baltimore or they will have no job with the city then within five years Baltimore would be well on its way to attaining the 10,000 new families goal. Most of the city employees who quit because of this SHOULD NOT BE REPLACED in order to save money. Money that used to be spent on these employees can be allocated to improving services that will help retain and attract residents. In the perfect world this money would be used to lower property taxes.
A 100% city employee residency requirement will help shrink our bloated local government and help bring families to Baltimore. Two respectable accomplishments will be attained because of one policy change that is sure to make current city residents feel less frustrated. Instead of having a Woodlawn resident tell you that you deserve a fine because your grass is too high, you will now have to deal with a fellow city resident who will better understand the situation and empathize with you. Jobs are not easy things to come by these days so if for some odd reason a large percentage (over 80%) of current non-Baltimore residing city employees decide to quit then there will be plenty of people who want to live in Baltimore who will gladly fill the necessary jobs that were left empty.
Adam is the most recognizable face of the recent resurgence in Reservoir Hill. He has appeared on many national and local radio shows, in several news publications, and at numerous events discussing his innovative urban redevelopment ideas and his unique lifestyle. Adam is a successful entrepreneur, community activist, and a local political guru who ran for city council in 2007. He is the founder and director of the TechBalt.com Buy a Block Project and BaltimoreHourly.com. His fearless local political commentary has rocked the local blog scene for most of this decade and he plans to take it to the next level in the next decade here on Charm City Current.
I agree, especially at management level positions! No excuse for people in the Mayors office to live in the county.